Pretty Kagome: Revised
by SugarRos
Summary: Pretty Kagome Revised Version. In desperate need of money to save her brother from an evil orphanage, Kagome turns to the worst job possible, and in turn is in debt to one of the most powerful men of her time.
1. Chance Meeting

Hey everyone.

Where to start, where to start? Let's see... Well, I know it's been a while, a little over a year maybe? Give me a break, I've moved, had breakups, fired and hired, and retarded computer problems (the most recent computer problem being that the core thing in my computer burnt out. There's a technical term for it, but don't ask me what it is, because I'm computer-illiterate). Which is why I haven't been able to update From the Future. So, um… Sorry?

Any other authors out there ever start a chapter to a story and then lose it? Lose it when you're half-done writing the chapter? You don't feel much like re-doing it, do you? Because it was SO GOOD, and you know you'll never be able to re-create it so perfectly again, right? Well, that's what happened with From the Future. Once I realized it was gone, I went though all my other stories, read Pretty Kagome again, which had been on hold for well over a few years, and realized that since I've had classes and more experience with writing since then, I just needed to re-write it all together.

So I've decided to revamp it. Spice it up. Change it so it will have a conclusion instead of the writer's block I was inevitably writing myself into. I'm sure you'll all understand.

And thus, Pretty Kagome: Revised is born. I hope you'll like these chapters, as well as the rest of the story that I'll be creating. It will be longer, better written, and have less plot holes than the previous.

-SugarRos

.o0o.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Co. Do not belong to me. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi. But right now they're mine to manipulate. I'm going to have so much fun. XD

Dedication: Chapter one is dedicated to my Beta, Viv, for sticking through it with me.

Chapter written to: Genius and Thieves by Eluvium. I suggest you download and listen to it while you read through this chapter.

.o0o.

Chapter 1: Chance Meeting

.o0o.

Kagome sighed, her pale hand coming up to cup her cheek, her eyebrows drawing together in distress. "This is so disgusting."

"You look hot."

She sniffed at her reflection. "I look like a _slut_."

"That's the point." Akane, who stood behind her, looking at her reflection over her shoulder, shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking Kagome up and down in the process. A grin broke out on her thin, ashy face, showing not-so-white teeth as she gave Kagome a thumbs-up sign.

"I know it's the point, but..." Kagome's voice trailed off, fighting back the nausea she knew was coming. "I can't believe it's actually come to this." She muttered, not cheered in the least by her older roommates' assurance. She stood in front of an ageing full-length mirror, frowning at her appearance. Her extremely short, black, leather skirt hugged her hips more than she felt comfortable with, and her boots were almost impossible to walk in, with their tall, spiky heels. And to top it off, nothing matched. The skirt was black and the boots were an unsightly neon green color, and the tube top that seemed to flatten her chest rather than boost it was a deep red.

…Not that any of her customers would really care, as Akane had pointed out to her earlier, and Kagome knew it to be true. The customers would care more about what was _under_ the clothes, not if the clothes themselves clashed terribly.

"One last thing…" Akane took hold of Kagome's chin and smeared a deep red lipstick, the same color of her shirt, thickly onto her lips. She took a step back to admire her work. "Do this:" she said, and rubbed her lips together before popping them open in demonstration. Kagome did the same and looked at herself in the mirror again. The lipstick made her skin look ghastly white.

She didn't recognize the girl that stared back at her through the glass. In fact, she sort of felt as if she were Alice, looking at an entirely different version of herself. One who dared to don seductive – although not very attractive in her opinion – clothing, and flirt dangerously with greasy men who would pay her small amounts of money for sex.

Her stomach churned at the Alice in Wonderland vision, and she felt certain she would heave the contents of her small, under-nourished dinner all over their dingy one-room apartment.

"Oh please, it's not that bad." Akane said, rolling her eyes slightly and sweeping her short bangs from her forehead. "Stop staring at yourself, you look like you're about to be sick."

"I think I might…" She placed her hand to her stomach as a wave of nausea swept through her.

"Stop being so scared. Look at it this way: the pay's better, and you can't ever be fired. How great is that?" Her mouth twisted into a grin that didn't quite reach her deep, brown eyes.

Kagome watched Akane carefully as she walked the three steps to the glass end table by the door. She bent over a hand-held mirror, a razor in her right hand, slowly chopping up a small pile of white powder, grazing it down into a fine substance. She watched Akane's arm tremble as she concentrated on her task, a gleaming look of pure need and desire in her eyes.

Kagome shivered as she looked at the powder, fear slowly creeping into her consciousness. She still wasn't used to being around the drugs. She'd never come across it on the docks, and it hadn't been around the orphanage at all. But she'd known that streetwalkers were keen on using illegal substances, and she told herself again that she should just get used to Akane inhaling the stuff. She would have to be around it for a while.

It still hadn't really hit her, the fact that Kagome agreed to do what she was about to do. In fact, when she first escaped the orphanage at the age of fourteen, she'd sworn to never fall into such a disgustingly sick vocation. Instead, she opted for the hard labor of working the docks.

"Fuck." Akane murmured to her right, cutting into Kagome's thoughts. Apparently, she was having trouble rolling up a dollar bill into a slim tube. "It's getting harder to roll these damn things." She let out a soft laugh, as if Kagome could also find the humor in such a fact.

She forced herself not to shake her head at Akane's actions, and turned her thoughts back to her recent past. Working the docks had taken a toll on her young body back then. She'd been beaten a few times by some boys her age that hadn't taken kindly to a girl working their hours. And then she'd been fired. For an absolutely ridiculous reason, she knew in her mind. And after she'd been working for the docks for years, too. But she hadn't been the only one to get shafted. The year she had turned seventeen were hard years for everyone who lived in the slums, and no one was willing to hire a young girl who had no sort of work experience in anything but lifting and transporting sea creatures.

So homeless, helpless, jobless, and with no way of rescuing the one person who she cared for most in the whole world, she wandered the streets, depressed, desperate, and fell into the clutches of Akane Tendo.

As evil as that had sounded, Akane Tendo was actually one of the most caring people Kagome had ever met. Akane had also been in Kagome's situation, although it was years before. Akane could relate and understand, and helpfully offered a hand in bringing in some cash flow for Kagome.

Akane was older by three years. At twenty, Kagome looked up to her as an older sister, someone who had taken her under a protective wing and brought her in from the cold. The apartment Akane lived out of was small, but there was a roof. The air was stale, and stank faintly of urine, but there were walls. The cockroaches were large, the water tainted, and the neighbors dangerous, but there was a place she could finally go to rest her tired body, and Kagome had happily accepted the girl's friendship.

She was slightly shorter than Kagome, and much thinner, short dark hair and sunken eyes, although she had an air of superiority about her. Not in a way that she thought she was better than others, she was in no way full of herself, but she'd explained it as a result of growing up in a martial artist's family, a dojo at her disposal, and many years of Kempo ingrained into her body.

Kagome was awed at the stories she would tell about her family. The handsome fiancé she'd had, the adventures they'd gotten into and, although she was absolutely sure Akane had been making it up, tales of absurd curses that had seemed to plague her life, or at least the life of her betrothed.

And though Akane had been more than willing to share stories of her past, she never once talked about how she had come to the city, why she started selling herself at what seemed like pocket change for such a reward. She never explained about her addiction to cocaine either, and Kagome never braved to ask.

The usual fear crept over Kagome again as she watched Akane dip her head down. One end of the tightly rolled dollar was in her right nostril, the other placed, tilted, against the mirror's surface. Akane inhaled sharply and quickly moved the makeshift tube down the line of powder, breathing in the drug in one swift motion. Slowly, she lifted her head back up, and Kagome watched as her entire body seemed to relax. A blissful smile spread across her face.

For the hundredth time Kagome wondered how it felt. Did it really feel so good to Akane, sucking it up through her nose? It didn't burn? It wasn't irritating? How could such a thing make her feel better? How could snorting help Akane relax? Help her do her job?

Akane stood up abruptly, suddenly energized, ready to go out into the dusk streets of the slum, ready to introduce Kagome into her line of work.

Again, intense nauseating fear spread through Kagome, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding.

She didn't want to do it, yet she had to, for Souta's sake. _'Just enough to get him out.'_ She chanted quietly to herself. _'Just a little touching and I can see him again. _She shuddered at the thought of strange men touching her, and swallowed the bile that threatened to rise in her throat. She didn't want to be touched. She wasn't ready.

It wasn't fair that this was her last option. It wasn't fair that she would be doing something unthinkable.

…She'd never even had the chance to be in love.

Kagome inhaled a deep breath to calm herself, pushing the self-destructive thoughts away. _'Think of it as Akane does.'_ She told herself, liking the way her inner voice sounded strong and confident and sure_. 'It's just another job, and it means nothing. Touching means nothing.'_

She repeated those words over and over until Akane interrupted.

"Alright, let's get you set up." She chattered, upbeat and hyper now that the cocaine had finally taken full effect. "Common, if we don't hurry the corner will already be taken."

Kagome followed Akane through the door and out into the streets of the slums, still chanting her silent mantra.

.o0o.

"Quite frankly, it is the task of outside analysts and activists to call for a consistent policy while recognizing that the activities of our government will inevitably be far from coherent, and will reflect much interest."

Inuyasha sighed, trying to look as bored as he possibly could. He knew his father would have it out with him later for not at least _pretending_ to be an upstanding, decent son, but he just didn't care. He wanted to be out of here as soon as possible. So, hoping that his father would soon cave in and let him leave, he slacked his posture, let a frown overtake his features, and began to loosen the tie that he suspected was trying to choke him to death on purpose. He had to loosen it carefully so as not to rip it to shreds like he _really_ wanted to do.

The hairy man his father was conversing with gave a curt nod, bringing his overgrown eyebrows together in an impression of deep thought. "Yes, I could agree." He replied, his voice stiff and haughty. "However, democracy promotion is most likely to have the central role it merits if we advocate for it rather than accepting the inevitability of compromise."

Oh Gods, what the fuck were they even _talking_ about? Why did everyone his father blather with use such big, complex words? Why bother when the shorter, easier versions would be just fine and dandy? His teeth ground together as he forcefully stopped himself from letting out a low, emanate growl. _'Don't scare him off, don't scare him off.'_ He chanted to himself in his head. He was in enough trouble as it was, and he didn't need another lecture from his old man.

"Yes, well," his father continued, giving Inuyasha a rather stern glance at his now-unkempt appearance. "The United States does need to be careful about the verbal support it gives to those struggling for democracy. This is why here, as in other matters, we should be guided largely by the desires of the local civil society. Egyptians fighting for free - excuse me - Inuyasha! Stop yawning like a dimwit and place some input into the conversation! –so sorry, where was I?"

"Egyptians, Senator Kobun."

"Ah yes. Egyptians fighting for free elections and an independent judiciary are pleading for our support and urging us not to give the Egyptian government good marks." He glanced up at Inuyasha, who was a good foot taller than him, and folded his arms. "And what do you think, oh ever-so-willing son of mine?"

Inuyasha stuck his nose in the air and folded his arms like his father, just to piss him off more.

"Yes, Inuyasha, please, what do you think of the matter?" His father's friend asked eagerly, his hands clasped together as if he were genuinely interested instead of just kissing rich ass.

Inuyasha took in a deep breath and glared down at his father, debating to himself whether or not using cuss words in his reply would benefit him by his father kicking him out, or hurt him in the long run. Really, he didn't want to wake up the next morning to find his car missing, sold to some charity because he'd embarrassed his father.

Finally coming to his conclusion, a huge grin broke out on his handsome face. "We should oblige, of course. Iranian democrats, on the other hand, have quietly made it clear that our rhetoric about regime change is not helpful, and we should listen to those requests as well." He couldn't wipe the smirk off his face at the look his father gave him. Oh yeah, it was a surprise, alright. He'd made his father out to be an ass. Score one for him, zero for his uppity dad.

"I certainly agree." The other man rambled on, sweating more with each moment. Gods, why the hell did everyone want to kiss his father's ass? Sure, he was a big, mean canine demon, but all he had was money. And power. And strength. Inuyasha snorted down at the fully-human man and, with a rushed 'excuse me,' turned on his heel and headed over to the exit. Maybe he could sneak away and watch some television up in his bedroom.

But of course, he wasn't so lucky.

"Hello stranger." A low, raspy, yet feminine voice purred out to him. He froze in his tracks. Strange how that voice instantly made him seethe in absolute fury. He turned, managing to plaster on the most polite smile he could muster before he caught her eyes.

"Kikyou."

Kikyou wasn't grinning, she was glaring. Which didn't necessarily mean that she was angry or annoyed, she just tended to look that way all the time. Most would explain her look as 'regal' or 'high class' when in reality, she was just stiff and emotionless. Okay, scratch that. The girl wasn't emotionless, really. He'd actually seen a couple emotions in the three years that they'd dated. One rage, one upset, and one, just one small smile that had done him in in the first place. Of course, she'd never shown him that damn smile again.

Manipulative bitch. He was just never able to read her.

"Where are you going." It wasn't really a question. Kikyou had a way of staying everything as a statement. It made it really hard to argue with her at times. Or reply to anything. It was like she already knew the answer to everything she asked. It used to be sort of a turn on for Inuyasha. Now it just pissed him off.

"Just, ah... upstairs." Inuyasha mumbled out, suddenly fidgety. It wasn't that he didn't like being around her, it was that he complete _hated_ being around her. Just the simple thought of her betrayal boiled the blood in his veins. He bit back his urge to grab her by the throat. There were too many people around, and it would be pointless, really. The bitch knew he wouldn't kill her.

Damn him and his compassion.

"Might I join you? I'm actually rather bored." Her right eyebrow rose up onto her forehead, daring him in her own nonchalant way to decline her request.

He had to think quickly. He didn't want to be alone with her. He was someone else entirely when he was, and he was trying to separate his life from hers as much as possible. "Ah, well…" He muttered, his head running with excuses. "I was just going up to change and then I'll be out with Miroku. I think he wants to hit the pub..."

It was a lame excuse, but he could tell by the way her delicate nose wrinkled that it had worked. She despised Miroku. It had been one of their dating issues, his best friend being who he was, and Kikyou being... well... Kikyou.

"I'll, ah... see you around." He added lamely as he turned and left the room, feeling her steely gaze burn into the back of his neck. God's, it had been over a year now, and she still gave him the creeps. That sort of sinister feeling had been another turn on when they had first gotten together. She'd been so different from every other girl that came knocking on his door to court. He'd actually welcomed the change, was glad for it, and drank in as much of her as he could.

...Until he found out what she was truly like, that is.

Not that it was a big slap in the face for him, it was just a realization that had sort of moved into his subconscious slowly, until he just knew. He'd probably known all along. It wasn't as if it was easy being one of the most eligible bachelors in his country. For one thing, he had all these fake, air-headed, although beautiful, women trying to snag him left and right. It was like a sick game, they way they all vied for his attention. Games like the one Kikyou was now playing, with her deep-waterish-smelling perfume, and her hair all fluffy and kept, her light pink, glossy lips, and that damn perfect body of hers that, he had to admit, drove him absolutely crazy in bed.

The girl was actually someone who really, truly didn't believe that showing some skin and offering all sorts of forbidden pleasure would get her money in the end. His house along with a few nice cars and a large pool and a set income for life. She'd gone about seducing him in a completely different way. Plunging into his mind, getting him to open up and confide in her.

Sex, on the other hand, had been something absolutely, completely different to him.

And was the sex ever great. Full of hard, powerful thrusting, and hot-and-heavy breathing, and slick skin-on-skin.

He always got turned on just being around her. Which was very, very dangerous. Because right before they'd broken it off, she'd already begun to talk about marriage, something that scared Inuyasha out of his skin.

And something he'd considered with all his heart.

Inuyasha set his jaw at the memories. Never again would he allow _that_ to happen.

He wasn't going to marry anyone.

He liked being single. Of course, the reason behind such a feeling could easily just be because he had yet to find a woman other than Kikyou with an intelligence level higher than a five-year-old. How sad was that? He'd courted girls before, of course, but he'd never found anyone that he'd had a connection to like he'd connected to Kikyou. He didn't deny that he wanted to feel like that again; he just wanted to feel it with someone who wasn't out to steal his very soul.

Love...

That emotion, he had come to find out, barely existed at all. Sure he'd experienced it himself, but it had been all wrong, and nothing like the relationship his parents had. He wanted something of what they had, although he'd never admit it to anyone. It hurt knowing there were people out there, even people so close to him that experienced love as a _good_ thing and not something to fear.

And what was with his father? Pressuring Inuyasha to find a fiancé at the ripe age of twenty-two and all so the public didn't think he was gay or had testicular cancer or something equally as ridiculous that had to do with his father being re-elected.

His dad was a jackass. Inuyasha was nowhere near being gay. But his father insisted that if he even _seemed_ to be gay it would ruin his reputation. Apparently, testicular cancer would do the same.

Inuyasha disagreed, of course. He believed, in fact, that his father's numbers in popularity would grow, since being gay seemed to be plenty okay with the public these days.

But whatever. He wasn't gay, and he could assure anyone that he did _not_ have testicular cancer.

Anyway, the point was he didn't like women crawling all over him because he happened to look good in spandex. (Or so they'd announced in the July issue of CosmoGirl.) Playgirl had actually approached him with the idea of being a centerfold in their magazine. Thankfully, that was one thing both he and his father agreed was a bad idea.

Not that Inuyasha was the shy type. He wasn't really a flirt, either. He liked to think of himself as being direct, which is why games like the one Kikyou was pulling at the moment did not catch his interest.

Anymore than it already had, anyway.

No, a flirt he was not. If he wanted sex, he got it. And it was satisfying to a point. A bit since he'd gotten over the first hit of puberty. Man, had that been a killer, especially with Miroku going through it at the same time. They both had been caught spying on the younger maids in the bath one time, he remembered, and that had cost his father a lot of dough through a very public and very unnecessary, Inuyasha thought, law suite.

He was much more able to control his urges now, which he was thankful for, especially because Miroku never seemed to grow out of it.

Inuyasha hurriedly climbed the stairs, relieved at having dodged what would have been a horrible, mistaken, hot tumble in the sheets with Kikyou – had he been swept away – and sprinted to his room. Once inside, he threw off his penguin suit, grabbed his favorite pair of jeans and his Hollister t-shirt, pulled it over his head and stretched out, feeling much more comfortable now that he was out of his formal wear. He slipped on his sneakers and tied them swiftly before heading out the bedroom door, feeling the urge to just get away from the stuffy music and his stuffy father and the stuffy business men and his stuffy ex-girlfriend. He just wanted to drive. And drink. And then have Miroku drive.

.o0o.

Kagome shifted uncomfortably and tugged at her skirt, trying to pull the hem down a little lower against her thigh. If Akane had been standing next to her, she would have slapped her hands away in annoyance, but Akane had gotten into a car an hour ago and had yet to return. Fear overtook Kagome's thoughts, and she wondered if she'd ever see her roommate again.

But it was something she couldn't think about right now. Right now she had to make the money she needed to pay her part of the rent, bust her brother out of the orphanage and move to a better place. A place where she could get a respectable job and support her brother, as she should. A place where drugs and sex was not a necessity.

So, gritting her teeth, she jutted her leg out a bit more, twisting so she was on the ball of her foot and leaned up against the rough, jaded cement of the corner liquor store. The pose made her uncomfortable and awkward, and she felt foolish for trying to look 'sexy' as Akane had put it.

She sighed and shivered, goosebumps rising and spreading across the top layer of her skin. She wished she had worn something that would keep her from the harsh winds blowing along with the cooling season, but Akane probably wouldn't have allowed it anyway. She was so frustrated, and the cold wasn't making her feel better.

It wasn't like she ever wanted her life to be like this. She never wanted to end up where she was, on the streets, fighting for her life, or for the life of her younger brother. And it's not like she ever wanted to do what she was about to do. Never in her wildest nightmares did she want to be as dirty as she was about to become, her clothes too tight, her lipstick too red... She was absolutely disgusted at herself.

Gods, she could still remember when life was so much simpler. Like around the time she was nine and her brother was four, and she didn't have to worry about feeding the both of them or worry about money or shelter. She could remember so clearly what it was like to have it all just there for her. Just right there. _Right there_.

She remembered when she actually went to school and did homework and chores and went to the movies and met up at the park with friends... And now when she looked back on those memories, she couldn't help but laugh. Laugh because she was so naive and innocent and had absolutely no idea how the world really, truly worked.

Oh, but now she did. Now she could see nothing but the real world. Nothing but what was truly there, right in front of her. She was hit head-on with reality. And it bit her in the ass every chance it got.

Reality reminded her every day of her helpless brother, who was stuck in a terrible, terrible place. She wished more than anything that she could pick up her baby brother from the orphanage where she had to leave him so many years ago and carry him back to a good, safe home and lay him down in a nice, warm bed and tell him reassuringly that everything would forevermore be okay. That he'd no longer be hungry and feel pain. That he'd have a place with an actual non-leaky roof and walls to live in, and a fireplace to warm himself by, and a microwave to heat up as many cans of chicken-broth soup as he wanted. That the headmistress of the orphanage would never mistreat him again.

But again, reality was there, and it was hard to imagine that what she dreamt would ever happen. Sure, determination drove her on, but she knew deep down that the chances were slim, and it would be a long time before she could save the money to spring her brother. The urge to simply take him from the place under the cover of night swelled up within her many times a day, but she wouldn't give into it. An eleven-year-old shouldn't have to watch his seventeen-year-old sister step into a limo or a fancy sports car and drive off, only to come back a half hour later with a fist full of cash and a broken spirit.

Not to mention, possibly, a broken body, as Akane had come home showing signs of more than Kagome liked to admit. No, Souta was better off at the orphanage rather than seeing _this_. It didn't matter that the Headmistress liked to slap the kids around. A slap in the face was better than the uncertain life Kagome would give him.

Still, she would continue to work at it until her brother was free.

That single thought gave her strength, and she knew she'd stay on that damned corner, and wait for her first customer, a possible chance to feed herself. A possible bruise, a possible cut, and a very possible death.

Yet through it all, Souta stayed as bright and smiling as ever in her mind. She would get him out of that horrible place if it was the last thing she did. She would get him to a place where he'd never have to worry or stress or get slapped around or feel hungry. To a far away land that Kagome remembered existing, that she remembered living in. To safety.

It had been hours now, and no one had yet to make her an offer. Was she that transparent? Or was she not appealing to the perverts? She knew for a fact she wasn't ugly, she'd been told so various times by different people, Akane included, who never wasted any time letting her know how much she could make on her looks alone.

She sighed and looked down at the pavement, bored and getting tired of being on edge and nervous, and tilted her head when she noticed the front page of a city paper trapped around her boot, it's tattered edges blowing softly in the breeze. She leaned down and snatched it up, looking over the headline and large colored picture of two rather handsome men glaring up at her. One looked to be in his mid-fifties, the other in his early twenties. Both with a look of importance, and, Kagome noted from the younger, boredom. The headline read: "Senator Kobun to Host Campaign Party: Moves Up in Polls"

She knew of Senator Kobun. He was in the news most of the time, and she'd followed reportings of him as best she could. He seemed to be a good man, although she wished he'd do something about the jobs in the slums. The economy needed a good looking-over.

Times had changed since she'd lost her parents. The fact that demons roamed the earth wasn't the big deal people had made of it a decade ago, and when Senator Kobun had revealed himself as such it swept the country into controversy.

But Senator Kobun had always been a good and decent man, and his son, who was actually a half demon, his mother being human, was as much a celebrity as a movie star. The tabloids loved him and his exploits, whether it be regarding his latest fling with a model or actress or a rough-and tumble fist-fight he seemed to get into with the rest of the upper-class famous, young crowd. Dubbed a playboy and the country's most eligible bachelor at the same time was a feat he had achieved, and held it with what seemed like pride and slight arrogance, Kagome had always thought.

Sighing out loud, Kagome lowered the paper and stifled a yawn, trying to keep her eyes open. She was tired and it was cold out, which really wasn't such a good combination. She just wanted to make her money and go home, where she wouldn't be warm exactly, but would be warm_er_.

A car came slowly rolling up to the pavement, and a tinted window rolled down, showing a youthful, yet rather unattractive male face. He smiled a lustful smile, and looked Kagome up and down, his eyes undressing. She fought the urge to cover herself. Blah. She absolutely hated this. Again, she pressured her mind into forcing a smile, although she knew she couldn't hide the disgust in her eyes. "May I help you?" She strained to keep her voice calm, low, seductive, yet to her it sounded gravely and tired. She prayed that he'd accept and that he'd decline, all at once.

Acceptance won, and she mused that if the Gods truly did exist, they were purposely punishing her for some sort of evil thing she'd done in her past.

"You can help me." The man replied, and opened the car door.

Kagome hesitated before she walked over, unsteady in her heels, but stopped suddenly as the man slipped out of his seat and grabbed her arm, squeezing so she let out a soft cry of surprise and pain.

And then, to her horror, the front seat pushed forward, and another man stepped out. Then another, and a third after him.

Oh no.

Oh no, oh no, oh no.

She saw it happening in slow motion, and she knew what was coming. She started to struggle, tried to pull away with all her might, but his grip was tight, and the other three had surrounded her, leading her as a pack towards the alley on her right, behind the convenience store. Kagome's throat tightened as her heart started to thud loudly in her chest. Her lips parted and a strangled sort of whimper came out. "Wait." Her voice just wouldn't come out right, wouldn't rise above a choked whisper. "Wait, no! Stop it!"

They laughed nervously, excitedly, eyes scanning the surrounding area to catch witnesses, but it was cold out, and no one was paying much attention to what was going on around them. They were more interested in getting home and warming up instead of helping to them what seemed a not-so-innocent sex-seller.

Once far enough back from the busy street, she was taken by her throat and slammed up against the brick wall. White exploded behind her eyes, a searing pain shooting through her head as she struggled to keep upright. Her mind raced, thinking desperately of what she could use to her advantage. There was a small razorblade in her boot that Akane had given her for warding off unwanted advances, but could she get to it without raising suspicion? As she reached down to grab it, she heard a dull thud, and her stomach heaved as the fist that had been planted firmly into her side dug in, sending even more pain shooting through her body.

She sagged, falling onto her right thigh, trembling, heaving, trying desperately to think of a way out of the situation she'd gotten herself into. A few seconds later, she felt cool metal against her fingertips, and realized that her hand was still inside her boot, fingering the small razor blade. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and in a panic, swiped out the blade and swung, eyes closed, hoping against hope that it would hit its mark.

It did, and the man who was bearing down to give a vicious slap drew back, shrieking, holding his hand which now sported a large, bloody gash. With a rush of hope and defiance, Kagome spun as best she could on her heels and ran – only to be tackled to the cement, the air squeezing painfully from her lungs. She turned and gave the man sitting on her back a terrified, wide-eyed look as he cocked his fist, ready to strike her again.

And then Kagome's world went black.

When she opened her eyes she was staring into the crotch of a pair of jeans. For a few seconds she was confused, wondering where she was, and why she couldn't move her head away from the rough material. Then she realized a hand was holding the back of her head, pressing her cheek against someone's lust. She was on her knees, forced into such a position by two men, both grabbing a wrist with one hand and pressing the other into her shoulder blades, keeping her down. She couldn't see past the jean fabric in her face and she jerked back as best she could as fingers that seemed giant so up close slowly pulled down the zipper in front of her, and a dank, musky smell drifted out of confinement and up into her delicate nose. She willed her body to struggle, but the pain in her head overpowered any sort of thought, any sort of movement. Her mouth felt sticky and she was sure the liquid that kept flooding into her mouth and down her throat was blood. Her tooth was gone in the back, a molar, she could feel the gaping hole with her tongue.

Now she remembered. She'd been trying to get someone to feel her up. And she was about to be raped because of it. This was it. She was done for. The worst was about to happen.

And then, she wasn't quite sure, but someone was shouting?

At first she thought the yelling was directed at her, but the voices weren't close enough. They were further away, arguing with each other. She struggled to push past the roaring in her ears, which had undoubtedly come from a punch to the side of her head, and tried to focus on what was happening behind her, towards the front of the ally.

"-do we have here?" The voice was saying. It was male, but Kagome couldn't tell if it was a friend of her attackers or someone else. "A gang-bang?" He added, smugness dripping from his voice.

The man who'd pulled down his zipper swiped it back up and turned away from her, distracted by the voice, and Kagome sucked in a lungful of air that smelled like urine, which she actually welcomed after the stench of the man's crotch. The two men holding her down loosened their grip, but didn't let go. Kagome didn't struggle yet. She was still too confused.

"Who the fuck are you?" One of the attackers asked, his voice low and threatening.

"No one you know." The voice answered nonchalantly. "Or at least, I'm sure _I_ don't know _you_." She could hear his tone change, deepen, challenge.

Now, Kagome wasn't what one would call a crier. In fact, she'd promised herself she'd never let anyone see her cry, especially now – in her new line of work that was going oh-so-well – those who thrived off her services. She'd been lucky enough in her life to get away without running into incidences such as these. But it would have happened sooner or later, what with streetwalking and all. So why not her first time out? No matter how much she'd promised herself she would not show her weakness through tears, they pooled under her lids, and she felt the salty substance drip over and down her cheek. With all her strength Kagome opened her mouth and called out through her tightened throat: "Please..." Her voice wobbled with pain. "Please help me..."

Another tear.

And again the pain overwhelmed her, and she passed out, slumped over her knees, still dangling in her captive's hands.

She could only hope whoever had interrupted was as tough as he sounded.

.o0o.

City lights flashed by, blurring into some strange sort of neon pattern in Inuyasha's eyes. The wind that blew in through his window rushed through his hair, which he'd pulled back into a leather thong, and numbed his ears, which were currently pressed flat against his head.

He was thoroughly enjoying the quiet ride, relishing in the fact that he'd gotten away from his father's house successfully. The event his father had thrown was just like every other one he held. It-

"Well, that party sucked."

Leave it to Miroku to be blunt. Not that Inuyasha minded. Actually, it was one thing he could really count on, which was why he had been drawn to Miroku in the first place. It helped that he worked for Inuyasha's father, too. One of their favorite past times was to rag on the old man.

"Such a waste." Miroku continued from the passenger seat of Inuyasha's Nissan Skyline GTR, an eighteenth birthday present from daddy-dearest. "I mean, think about the parties _you_ could be throwing." He shook his head to give a disappointed effect.

"I don't throw parties." Was Inuyasha's curt reply, as he sped towards a u-bend in the road. Miroku's hands clasped onto the handle up by the window and let out a small 'eep' as Inuyasha turned the wheel and made the bend perfectly.

"I'm just saying you _should_." Miroku shot back as soon as he was relaxed enough to do so. "Your. House. Is. _Huge_." He emphasized, and waved his hands in the air erratically. "We could easily throw a sophisticated soiree of our own."

"Soirée my ass." He mumbled back. "You'd only invite a bunch of annoying, giggling, girls with big boobs and tight skirts."

"One of them could teach you how to dance." He added thoughtfully.

"I don't dance."

"You ought to. I get quite a few of the ladies that way." He hesitated. "Although, you really don't need much help in that area anyway."

Inuyasha smirked, knowing what his friend said was true, and turned another corner, racing towards the slum area of the city.

"Where are we off to this time?" Miroku asked nonchalantly, not really caring much.

Inuyasha shrugged in the same nonchalant way. "I just want a beer. All they had at the party was Champaign." He added at the end with a grumble.

"Ah, the bar, then."

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed, "but not the one around here, I was thinking we find a bar where no one will try to talk me up."

Miroku frowned this time. "Well, that's no fun." He complained. "That's how I meet the ladies, Inuyasha. They hit on you, you brush them off in you obviously sexy-yet-horribly-rude way, and then I pick up the pieces and sweep them up with my gentle and charming demeanor." He grinned.

"Shut up." Inuyasha replied. "We're going to a dive bar. Some place in the slums, I think." He added, and made a swift lane change to hop onto the freeway.

Miroku slapped his hands against the dashboard, something he had to do often to steady himself when in the car with Inuyasha.

"And then," Inuyasha continued, "I want some ramen. Some greasy ramen."

"There was plenty of food at your place."

"No, there was plenty of _escargot_ at my place. Not even an ounce of fatty calories. Why would I want that when I can have stuff that actually has a taste to it?" He swiftly changed lanes and hopped off the freeway.

Miroku glanced down at the speedometer, wondering how they'd arrived at their destination so fast. It read one hundred and ten MPH. No wonder. He signed, deciding not to comment on his friend's reckless speed. "Because we have to drive to the middle of bum city to get it. The air down here doesn't do well with my skin." He flipped down the sun visor and opened the mirror, rubbing his cheek as if he were wiping off dirt.

Inuyasha glanced over. "I see a pimple."

"No you don't, I'm flawless." Miroku shut the mirror and grinned back, not in the least bit falling for his friend's eager pry to get him to worry.

"Here we are." Inuyasha stated, as they pulled up behind a dirt-red beamer, the license plate was crooked, and the left back tire was about to go flat. His car definitely stuck out in these parts, compared to the one that seemed to blend into the background in front of them.

They both opened their respective doors and slipped out, Miroku stretching and looking slightly relieved that they were over Inuyasha's speedy driving. Inuyasha inhaled a deep, relaxing breath. Visiting the slums always seemed to calm him down. Probably because it tended to remind him that even though he couldn't stand his father's way of life, he still had a nice, warm bed to sleep in. He knew that well over half the people living in the slums didn't. Plus, no one would ever kiss his ass down here. In fact, people plain ignored him. That's what he liked best.

He glanced up into the sky and noticed that he couldn't see the stars. The streets were lined with lamps that flickered on and off, as well as neon sighs for pubs and strip clubs and fast food joints. They blocked out the natural light of the sky, one thing that Inuyasha actually liked about living in such an upper-class suburban area.

"We going in, or what?" Miroku's voice pierced through his thoughts, and he nodded at his friend, stepping up onto the sidewalk and walking in his usual stride towards his favorite run-down bar.

Inuyasha would realize later that he probably should have stayed at home. It would have been a whole heck of a lot less complicated to go along with Kikyou's strange, slightly creepy seduction. He should've just fucked her then and there instead of running off on some lower-class adventure to fill his stomach. He could have never expected what came next.

"Stop it! Please, just leave me alone!"

Inuyasha's ears perked up. They twitched towards the sound as his head turned to follow and he squinted down a dark alley they were passing. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed Miroku's shirt, stopping him in his tracks.

"What the- What?" His friend demanded, turning to face him. He rubbed at his neck and grumbled about _hanyou_ strength.

The voice of the young girl who was being hassled wavered and she let out a sob. "Please!" But the four men who were surrounding her laughed off her plea of desperation and the leader of the pack cocked back his fist and hit her hard. Inuyasha winced as his sensitive hearing picked up the sickening sound of bone-on-bone.

"Jesus!" Miroku breathed beside him, having caught on to the scene that was playing out before their eyes.

"Fucking bitch cut my mouth!" One guy was shouting, sounding absolutely outraged. He motioned to his buddies and they picked up her limp body, and positioned her on her knees, getting ready to do the very deed in a way that made Inuyasha's blood boil.

He watched as the girl came-to and started struggling, spitting up blood. The leader of the little gang pulled down his zipper and laughed in a menacing sort of way.

Well, fuck.

Inuyasha was normally one to stay out of other people's business. He didn't like getting his hands dirty over strangers. And of course, the girl was obviously just a prostitute, which was evident by the way she dressed. He probably would have been better off just walking by and letting the guys have their fun. More than likely she was a drug-addict anyway, and was going to die in a few years whether she was raped and killed or not.

"Are we just going to stand here?" Miroku asked in a whispered tone, his eyes locked on the scene in front of them.

"Fuck." Inuyasha growled out in reply. No, he couldn't just stand there. _Fuck me and my conscience._ He berated himself, stepping into the ally and sucking in a deep breath, steeling himself. Not that he was scared. He didn't scare easy. But this situation was just such a pain. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He threw out at the group of attackers, puffing out his chest yet looking as calm as he could possibly could. He saw the girl tense and lift her head up towards his voice. "A local gang-bang?"

All four men snapped their heads around, eyes wide, looking as if they were little kids caught steeling candy. They definitely hadn't counted on anyone caring enough to interrupt.

"Who the fuck are you?!" One of them asked – the lookout, most likely, he wasn't touching the girl.

Inuyasha let his face form a menacing grin, one that was meant to place fear in their minds, rather than make them feel welcome. "No one you know." He replied, then – for good measure – added: "Or at least, I'm sure _I_ don't know _you_." He could feel the growl forming in his throat, the sound reverberating his vocal chords as his lips shifted slightly into a sneer. The usual adrenaline rush that flushed through his veins made his vision sharper, his hearing more acute, and the hairs on the back of his neck under his ponytail stand on end. He cracked his fingers as he let his posture do the rest of the talking for him. He heard Miroku shuffling his feet to his left and knew his friend had his back. Miroku was actually a pretty valuable asset to have in a fight, as he'd proved many times before when hanging around Inuyasha.

His thoughts of thankfulness for having Miroku at his side were interrupted by a desperate whimper, which came from the girl being forced on the ground.

"Please..." she whispered, the sound floating from her lips and reaching Inuyasha's sensitive ears. He felt them twitch as he became more enraged. A lot of things pissed him off, got on his nerves. But abuse of women, even prostitutes, was the pedestal of his anger, the one nerve hit that set his blood boiling. Even his father couldn't make him feel such acerbity.

Again, her plea found his ears. "Please..." She started to cry, hot, salty tears, he could smell them as they leaked from her eyes and soaked her skin. Her voice grew stronger, more desperate. "Please help me..."

Something in Inuyasha snapped. He wasn't seeing the usual red that flooded his senses when he was about to get into a drunken fight outside of some stupid nightclub. Instead it was as if everything around him slowed down.

"Mister, you've walked into the wrong ally." The leader of the pack threw back at him menacingly. He obviously had not caught onto the fact that Inuyasha was actually a hanyou. Humans today just did not have common sense, what with trying to start a fight with a _youkai_, half or not, he was about to be shredded. Such a reason, among many others, was why there were so many enforced rules and regulations against street fights. The leader turned to his sidekicks. "Kill him." He ordered simply.

Slowly the three underlings moved towards Inuyasha, dropping the girl onto her hands and knees, but not before giving her another punch to the head, knocking her out cold.

"Watch your manors, men." Miroku threw out a warning, his finger pointed out, although his face rather calm and controlled. "You do not want to lay your hand on that woman again."

They laughed at his attempt to be heroic, surrounding both Inuyasha and Miroku slowly.

Inuyasha could smell that no one in the little gang had any sort of youkai in them, which was actually rather rare. Dumb luck on his part. This would be so easy.

He smirked, half-hidden in the contrasting shadows from a single over-hanging street lamp.

They moved as one, and Inuyasha could tell they had done such a thing before. Probably killed most people who had stepped up and tried to be brave. Boy, were they ever in for a rude awakening. Even so, from the way the gang members attacked, he knew none of them had a killer's instinct like he did, which came quite naturally to someone like Inuyasha. They'd be easy to deal with.

He turned to Miroku and raised an eyebrow, a silent question that asked if he had gathered the same information and came to the same conclusion. Miroku nodded, a sudden grin on his lively face. Fighting is what Inuyasha had lived for, while the peaceful yet protective nature of the Martial Arts was something Miroku had indulged in, and Inuyasha wondered if Miroku was wishing he had his helpful bo-staff in hand. Not that it mattered, Miroku did well enough without the thing. The rush of excitement and the bunching and flexing of muscles used to pound out opponents like hamburgers sent a thrill of excitement up Inuyasha's spine. It was sheer bliss.

In a sudden blur, the gang attacked.

And were unconscious in three seconds flat.

Inuyasha had been tag-teamed, leaving only one for Miroku, who quickly snared his opponent into a headlock and flipped him over his back, slamming him with all his human might into the brick wall; a sickening crack emitting from his back and a gurgling sound from his mouth was all it took to reign him unconscious.

Inuyasha was actually disappointed, having a much easier time with the two that came after him. He was stronger than Miroku of course, but he was at least hoping for more than he got. Both had run at him, heads lowered and fists cocked. Inuyasha grabbed the cuffs of their shirts and rammed their heads together.

That was that. The leader of the gang that wasn't so much of a gang anymore stood, trembling, stuttering as Inuyasha stepped slowly into the light, his canine-like ears and amber-colored eyes showing under no cover.

"W-wait, we didn't – we didn't realize that you were a-"

"A what?" Inuyasha sneered, his eyes throbbing as he struggled to hold onto his human conscious. "A _freak_?" He suddenly smelled the strong odor of fresh piss. The guy had peed his pants. He had also released the girl, who was now slumped over onto the concrete pavement. Inuyasha swung back and punched the man in the nose with all the might he could muster, literally sending him flying down the ally and up against the wall before sliding down and ending in a heaped mess, blood pooling in his mouth and dripping onto his shirt.

Inuyasha snorted, his vision returning to normal, and he breathed in deeply, holding back a choke from the smell of urine and blood.

Miroku came to his side, clasping his hand onto his friend's shoulder and breathing heavily. They glanced at each other before breaking out into their own respective grins.

"Holly living Gods." Miroku breathed out, laughing a loud, boisterous laugh. "That was intense!"

Inuyasha harrumphed, shrugging off Miroku's hand. "What the hell are you talking about, that was the most pathetic attempt at a jumping I've ever come up against."

"Inuyasha." Miroku stated, his wide grin spreading across his entire face. "We saved this girl's life. Don't you feel elated by that fact?"

He snorted at his friends' obvious display of excitement, but did manage a cocky smirk. It was contagious, that stupid grin of Miroku's. He had to admit that he felt good about himself. Most of the fights he got caught up in centered around arguments regarding disrespect or racist _youkai_-human issues, and such fights usually commenced around the time everyone involved was plastered drunk. This was indeed different, a rare situation where a life had been saved.

In thought of the girl, Inuyasha realized he should probably check and see if she was breathing, she was still lying unconscious where the men had left her. He turned from Miroku and strutted over, his eyebrows drawn together in an intense sort of way. Kneeling down, he hesitated, then the thought that he might catch something if he touched her fluttered into his mind. He sat there, his elbows on his knees, debating with himself when Miroku came up beside him.

"She alive?" He asked, peeking over his shoulder in the contrasting light.

"I don't know." Inuyasha mumbled his reply.

"Poke her."

"_You_ poke her!"

"No, that's disturbing." Miroku turned his head, searched the alley for something. "Look, a stick." He stated and went to grab it, smiling in an accomplished sort of way as he brought it back and tentatively stretched it out towards the girl.

"What the hell are you doing?" Inuyasha shot his arm out and grabbed the stick, his face twisted into mild humor and slight disgust. "Don't stick her like she's a dead cat!"

"Well, I'm not going to touch her with my bare hands. Are you going to touch her?"

"Gods, I'll do it." He grumbled, annoyed but very aware that Miroku was merely pushing him to do what he would have done anyway. He reached out gingerly, resting his fingertips onto her cold shoulder and nudged her a little roughly, taking his hand back and waiting.

Nothing happened.

Both boys stared down at the girl, each starting to think that she just might be dead. Miroku cleared his throat and pushed against Inuyasha's back, edging him on. "Check her pulse." He emphasized.

Inuyasha shot him another glare over his shoulder. "Would you chill the fuck out? I'll do it, okay?" Again, he moved his attention to the girl, and reached out slowly, grimacing as he touched her neck and felt for a pulse. He let out a sigh of relief when he felt it, surprisingly strong and steady, beating against his thumb. "She's alive." He breathed out, much louder than he'd meant to due to mollification. His fingers stayed where they were as he looked down at the girl, happier than he thought he would have been. And the thought flittered through his mind that she had some pretty damn soft skin considering she was... ah... _loose_.

Then she moaned, interrupting Miroku's loud shout of relief and rolled over, molding her face into one of pain. "What...?" She mumbled out, her eyes still closed.

Inuyasha stood and glanced at Miroku, his face snapping back into one of seriousness.

"Let's go before she comes-to."

"Shouldn't we see if she's okay?" Miroku asked, his attention still drawn down. "Maybe she'll be thankful and pay us, if you know what I mean." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Inuyasha looked disgustingly at his friend for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. Miroku was a letch, but sometimes he just went too far. "Shut up, you fucking pervert." He answered. "She just got pushed around, it probably happens all the time. Besides," he added, "more likely than not she's drugged up, anyway." The thought sped through his mind, though, that she sure as hell didn't look as if she were on anything. In fact, now that he was getting a better look at her face and body, she looked downright healthy for someone in her line of business.

Her face, first of all, was clean and smooth. Not overly-pimply or scarred in anyway. She could have been in makeup commercials, although her looks were kind of plain. Nothing very stunning. She was a little thin for her length, but she was a streetwalker, so it wasn't all that surprising. He noticed her bright red lips didn't match her skin tone. It made her skin seem almost transparent next to the neon color.

Inuyasha tilted his head as he watched her come to. The more he looked, the more she didn't make sense to him. She didn't smell clean, exactly, but she didn't stink of semen or musk, outside of the four men who had tried to do her in tonight. She smelled more like shrimp, actually. Like the docks he used to visit as a kid, watching the workers as they transported sea creatures.

The girl had rolled onto her side, and he finally got a good view of her age. Slightly taken aback, he kneeled down a bit closer, studying her youthful features. "Gods..." He muttered out, more to himself than to Miroku who was still watching from over his shoulder. "She can't be any older than in her teens..."

It was true; she didn't look a day over twenty at the most. He leaned even closer, as if in a trace, more curious than anything. Wondering how someone her age could ever become what she had. His frown deepened, and he wondered if she even had a place to sleep. Again, he was buried with an onslaught of realization that she just didn't smell or look as if she were homeless.

So lost in his thoughts was he that he didn't notice when her lashes fluttered, or when her lids opened to meet his gaze, and it took him a few seconds before he realized that she was now conscious, and that her blazingly blue-grey eyes were staring right into his.

She seemed dazed, but he was frozen, having been caught red-handed in her personal space. Before he could retreat she sucked in a lung full of air and let out the most agonizing, ear-piercing scream he had ever heard.

Stunned, he didn't hear Miroku shout out a warning, and he definitely didn't see her hand draw back, he just concentrated on flattening his ears to his head. Her scream _hurt_. His brain caught up with him, however, when her palm connected to his cheek, and he felt a slight stinging sensation spread across the left side of his face.

Her face was wild, scared, and really, he couldn't blame her; she'd probably thought he was one of them. But still, his temper flared, and he shot his head back as if she was on fire, and he glowered down at her. "You bitch, what the hell was that for?!" He yelled, the anger evident in his voice.

"Don't you touch me!" She yelled back, just as furious. "I'll... I'll-" Her voice trailed off and she seemed to fall back into unconsciousness, still rather out of it.

Neither Miroku or Inuyasha spoke for a few seconds, then Miroku's voice broke the silence. "Should we take her to a hospital?"

Inuyasha let out a snort as he stood and brushed gutter grime off his jeans. "Fuck it. The whore slapped me."

"She thought you were about to ravish her."

"I'm not fuckin' like those guys!" He spat, more pissed than he should have been, considering events.

"Yeah, well she doesn't know that." Miroku shot back, his ear-to-ear grin returning. "Dude, she totally bitch-slapped you!"

Inuyasha let out a menacing growl. "Shut up." Then he turned and stalked out of the alleyway. "Let's get the hell out of here. I've worked up an appetite."

"But the girl-"

"Leave her." He cut off his friend and turned the corner, anger rushing through him. Argh! See if he ever helped anyone again. Ungrateful bitch.

Miroku shrugged and followed after his friend, with one last glance back at the girl, then to the guys strewn about her. With a dismissive thought, he turned the corner also, figuring the guys wouldn't be up and around for a few good days anyway.

.o0o.

Only minutes later, Kagome opened her eyes again, weary and in pain. This time no shadowy face loomed over her. Sitting up, she looked around; realization slowly dawning that someone had saved her.

But where had that someone gone?

She turned her aching head towards the opening of the alley, the street sparse, the lamps low, and an image of silver hair and intense, golden eyes floated across her memory. She shook her head, which sent more pain shooting through her, and she reached a tentative hand to her forehead. Ouch.

Slowly she rose to her feet, her ankles wobbling within her boots, now covered in dirt in grime. And blood. Definitely her blood. Her hand moved from her head down to her mouth where she felt dried blood, and she wiped it from her skin.

Her mouth ached, her shoulders ached, her head ached and her stomach ached. She'd been punched and kicked and thrown, but she hadn't been through nearly what those around her had.

She saw the faces of each of her attackers, she saw them and she swallowed back a scream of terror. Bloodied, broken, tortured. She saw them and she turned and ran as best she could back to her home.

The image of her beaten attackers followed her the whole way.

.o0o.

There you are, spiffed up a bit and re-edited on 1/6/09! Hope you enjoyed it!

26 pages of fanfictiony-goodness!

~SugarRos

Next Chapter: Hatched Plans


	2. Hatched Plans

Hello, hello!

Time for a few notes on the character Kikyou plays in this fanfiction. Hear me out. I love Kikyou as a character, I think she's gold, and I think Takahashi-Sensei did good when creating her. I do pity her, I can relate to her to some (some) extent, but for the most, she is a character that I love to hate.

Now, by 'love to hate', I don't mean that I call her a ho, or some of the other… er… _creative_ names people have come up with to describe her, I will never bash her as a character, but I do believe that Kikyou was a woman driven mad by not only love but betrayal as well. I love to hate the way she has come between Inuyasha and Kagome for so long, yet I also fully understand that the relationship between the two are better because of Kikyou.

The Kikyou I write in this fanfiction is the same Kikyou that first appears in the Manga, personality-wise. Keep that in mind.

Hope you all enjoy the second chapter!

~SugarRos

.o0o.

Dedication: Chapter two is dedicated to the readers who've hopped over as fans from the original Pretty Kagome fanfiction. Thanks for sticking with me guys, you're the best.

Chapter Written To: Your Hand in Mine by Explosions in the Sky. I suggest you download and read the chapter along with the song, they go very well together.

.o0o.

Chapter Two: Hatched Plans

.o0o.

It took her a good thirty minuets to get home. Somewhat because she chose to move among the shadows, chose not to draw attention to herself, somewhat because she hurt all over, because her feet dragged underneath her legs in pain, because her face felt bruised. It was mostly because she was terrified.

_Youkai_. Her mind whispered menacingly to her. _It was youkai. What else could it be?_ She had to stop several times to remember to breathe. To remember where she was going. _There are laws set in place so youkai don't do that to people. There are rules for street fights,_ she tried to comfort herself.

_Youkai don't obey the rules for street fights._

That wasn't true. Most youkai _did_ obey the street fighting rules, and those that didn't were caught and tried, and usually locked up and treated to the full extent of the law. The consequence of being caught street fighting over the rules was great enough that most obey the street fighting rules, and those that didn't were usually caught and tried, and usually locked up and treated. The consequence of being caught street fighting over the rules was great enough that most _youkai_ didn't even bother getting into them.

_This was youkai, no doubt about it_. Her mind reassured her. Kagome shook her thoughts away. It made no sense. Why would a youkai risk treatment for someone it barely knew? Why would a youkai risk treatment for a slum girl?

Thirty minuets of debating with herself, thirty minuets of painful walking, and Kagome finally shut the door to her apartment, her mind racing and her breath short and hitched. Her eyes had been blurred with unleashed tears since she had awoken in the alley to find herself alone, the men who'd been beaten to a pulp around her unconscious. …Maybe even dead.

Now, leaning her back against the door of her apartment, Kagome let her silent tears fall. Tears of pure relief. Someone had saved her life tonight, because she sure as heck hadn't beaten anyone up. But she couldn't remember what had happened. There were voices, there was arguing, there was that disgustingly sickening smell as the man had unzipped his pants and forced her cheek to press up against him…

And then she'd been saved. It was blurry, but the voice had been raw and angry, and it was enough for the men to release their hold on her, enough for her to fall into sweet, unconscious bliss. She didn't think that the men had actually followed through with their plains. Kagome had been a virgin, and she'd heard all the horror stories about the pain. It was true that her stomach ached like she couldn't believe, but that had to be from the punch to her gut, not… not _that_. A quick check below had confirmed that she was still… _normal._ Still _right_. So either someone had stepped in beforehand and stopped her attackers, or her outside bruises hurt worse than her inside ones. She hoped to the Gods that the first was the truth.

Kagome's memory was fuzzy, and while unconscious she certainly dreamed of her rescuer, but she couldn't put a face to him. She couldn't put a _body_ to him, for that matter. She only had his voice.

Sighing and finally resigning to the fact that no matter the outcome, she'd gotten lucky at the end there, she willed her tired, bruised body away from the door and towards the bed. A chill ran up her back, and she let in a sharp intake of breath as she noticed a lump on the bed. It was seconds later before she realized it was only her roommate.

Man, she was jumpy.

Akane lay curled up in scrawny blankets, her legs tucked in underneath and her arms wrapped around her body. Kagome moved closer to see Akane's face better, suddenly worried. Why was Akane home so early? It was only five past one. Usually she didn't get in until late morning. She looked okay though; she seemed to be sleeping peacefully enough. She fought the urge to wake Akane up right that moment, to tell her what happened, to let her know she wasn't okay working the streets. Another attack like the one she had tonight would be too much. Tonight was too much already.

Kagome was too scared to step outside again.

Slowly, telling herself to wait to give her the news until morning, she wiped the hair from Akane's forehead, and her fingertips came away drenched with sweat. Surprised, she sat at the edge of the bed and took a closer look. Akane's lids fluttered, and Kagome forced herself to relax. She was just dreaming.

She pressed her forehead into her hands as she thought about the evening's events. She shouldn't have survived. Most girls would not have made it through such a predicament alive. Men like the ones who had attacked her were set on killing their victims, weren't they? Had her luck turned out differently, she never would have seen Akane again.

She shivered at the mental image of a broken, abused body – _her_ body – lying cold and unmoving in a lifeless clump, thrown in sloppily with the trash. Would anyone have even bothered to find her killer? Would they have taken her as just another drug-addicted prostitute? Would they have sighed and shrugged their shoulders and shaken their heads at how she had ended up dead? _It's really such a pity_, they'd say to each other, _if she'd stayed the straight and narrow path she would have done something with her life._

'_Whore.'_ They'd call her under their breath. _'Filthy garbage, infesting the streets.'_

Kagome choked back a sob and reminded herself that she hadn't ended up like that. She was alive. Alive. "I'm alive." She said aloud. Saying it made it more real to her somehow.

Taking her hands away from her eyes, she glanced down at the darkly crusted blood that lay beneath Akane's nose. Obviously Akane was okay, although Kagome was extremely nervous about the amounts of cocaine she was inhaling. It seemed like there was never enough to fill her friends' desires, and the money Akane was making was fueling only her habit, making it hard to pay rent and buy food.

Akane's life was breaking apart, and Kagome's was being dragged along with hers, side-by-side.

Kagome sniffed and slowly lay down next to her friend, closing her eyes and drifting off into a fretful sleep, filled with dark shadows and violence, as well as the deep, masculine words: "Don't stick her like she's a dead cat!"

It felt like only moments before her eyes snapped open, and for a second Kagome forgot where she was. There was frantic movement behind her, and she turned her head to see a blurry Akane thrashing around. Her head was forced back and she was emitting choking sounds as a small amount of foamy liquid seeped over the corner of her mouth.

"Oh Gods… Oh Gods, Akane!!" Kagome jumped out of the bed and leaned over her roommate, placing her hand on Akane's chin and holding her as still as possible, trying to get a better clue as to what was happening. Her eyes were rolling back, her lids fluttering violently.

What should she do, what should she do? Panic swept over her and a flood of horrified tears threatened to break free.

No, no, she couldn't lose it. She couldn't lose control right now. She knew what to do. She steeled herself and removed her hand from Akane's chin – which was now shaking uncontrollably – and kneeled on the mattress, looking her up and down for signs of… anything. Her skin was pale, almost transparent, and her throat was trembling.

"_Check her throat, dammit! You know this!"_ Her mind spat at her, and she grabbed onto Akane's chin again, forcing her head back a bit further and reaching her finger into her mouth, pressing the tongue down and ignoring the disgustingly slimy saliva as her finger drove into the opening, searching frantically for anything that might be blocking the passageway. She didn't feel anything but the uprising of vomit, and managed to roll Akane over onto her side only seconds before it flew from her mouth and over the side of the bed.

Coughing, Akane frantically heaved in large amounts of air, breathing raggedly. Her lids stopped fluttering, her eyes focused as Kagome slowly rolled her onto her back again and grabbed a napkin from the bedside table, wiping at her mouth.

Akane lifted her eyelids and fixed a confused gaze onto Kagome. She looked as if she wanted to speak, but Kagome shook her head. "No, don't. Your throat is probably really swollen, don't strain it anymore." She stood, walked over to the fridge and took out a bottle of water before hurrying back to Akane's side. She placed her left hand under her roommate's head, lifting it slightly and tipping the bottle to her lips with her right. "Just a little bit," she instructed, "I don't want you choking again."

Kagome felt… different. She wasn't panicked anymore, just relieved. Relieved and infuriated. She knew something like this was inevitable. Akane liked to think she was invincible, that she wasn't prey to the drugs, but the danger signs of her habit were blatantly clear.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kagome asked, her voice tight. "As okay as you can be, I mean?" She tried to hide the bite in her tone. Tonight wasn't the night to lecture Akane; she'd almost died right next to her, in her sleep.

The thought hit her that it was strange they'd both almost died tonight.

Akane nodded weakly, her eyes opening and closing slowly, her breathing harsh. She was alive, they both were, but Kagome wasn't sure how long it would last. Tonight's close calls stuck in her mind, kept her heart beating, kept her eyes open. There was no way she was going back to sleep tonight, she could easily wake up the next morning and find Akane dead.

Just like she could have been dead. It was a fear that could become real all too soon for Kagome's liking.

So she stayed awake, sitting next to her roommate in the dark, watching over a body that was grotesquely delicate. She wanted to throw up just as Akane had earlier. The person Kagome was becoming was beginning to sicken her. She never would have though she would've been the type of person to simply stay silent while a friend slowly committed suicide. She never would have though she'd be the type of person to actually hit a rock bottom – where selling her body was the only thing she could do to stay afloat.

What was happening to her? What had she become?

The goal of freeing her brother from the orphanage was becoming a far-off dream, unreachable, one she was sure never to accomplish while her roommate refused to pay rent, choosing to buy immense amounts of cocaine to fuel her filthy habit instead. Rent was questionable from herself now as well, now that quick money via prostitution was definitely out.

What was to become of them? Of her younger brother that wasted away in a terror-filled orphanage, where they beat him, as surely as they had beaten her? She felt as if she and her brother would both fade away into nothing, always being a slave to such a tragic destiny.

She stayed awake throughout the night, keeping constant watch on her friend, and wept over a future that looked as bleak as the street shadows that swept across her window.

.o0o.

Kikyou paced inside her therapists' office, walking back and forth from the door to the couch she'd been sitting on only moments ago, willing herself not to nibble on her thumbnail in frustration. It had been hard, weaning herself off of such a disgusting habit as nail biting, but she'd done it, and stuck to it most of the time. She still indulged, though, whenever she had a strong emotional response to anything, which rarely happened.

Right now it was happening. She was frustrated. And she was struggling not to indulge. To indulge would be to give in, to admit she had a weakness. She was stronger than the urge, stronger than her need to nibble.

Kikyou had a proclivity for short bursts of fiery temper, and it took all her strength to remain merely 'frustrated.' The temptation to bite was becoming overwhelming, and the more she resisted, the less frustrated and more pissed off she became.

A soft 'a-hem' came from off to her right just as she was raising her thumb to her mouth, unconsciously eager to take a nail between her teeth, and it startled her enough to lower her hand, glairing at the offensive appendage as if it were set out to do her in. Aside from her moment of clarity, from her triumph over her struggle, she all but ignored the interruption. True, she was supposed to divulge in conversation during visits to her therapists' office, she'd been court ordered to, in point of fact, but she didn't feel like conversing today. She didn't feel like talking any day, and she wouldn't be anywhere near this place had she not been forced to by law.

"Sit down and tell me about it." The voice to her right drifted towards her again, in all its deep, soothing ways, yet strangely detached and cold demeanor. Kikyou made a slight sound of disgust as acknowledgement to the man who sat calmly in his comfortable swivel chair, a yellow pad on his lap and a pen held ready in his hand.

'_How stereotypically unoriginal.'_ She mused, tilting her chin up in defiance.

Oh, how this man made her angry. If there were any way to do so, she would surely kill him the first chance she got. But Kikyou was not unintelligent, and she knew all too well what would befall her if she let even a glimpse of her murderous thoughts show on her face. Luckily, she'd always had a talent of being able to show no emotions when it came to her face, not at all unlike her detached, unemotional therapist, and it usually worked in her favor.

Usually.

Luckily, today was a usual sort of day.

"Will you sit down, at least?" He wondered in a uninterested tone. "I'm becoming quite fed up with your insistent pacing."

Kikyou stuck him with a cold glare – which he met with his own – and sat heavily on the black, almost-bed-like couch, crossing her arms and legs and sticking her nose up in the air in blatant disrespect. She did not want to look at him.

The man sighed at her childish tantrum and turned slowly in his chair, the bored expression on his face making her insides positively seethe with anger. How she hated him with every ounce of her entire being. She almost hated him more than his younger brother, whom she was currently planning on destroying, and couldn't help but imagine a gory scene where she stood over his un-moving body, laughing in righteous triumph over how she'd won.

_  
How_ she won, she didn't know for sure, but it didn't really matter in her mind, she honestly didn't care. She just wanted the euphoric feeling of dominating Inuyasha and his frustrating older brother, Sesshoumaru, who was currently staring down at her though a pair of un-rimmed, clear, rectangular glasses.

She suspected the glasses were for show, as Sesshoumaru, unlike Inuyasha, was a full-blooded youkai, and his sight couldn't possibly be less than 20/20. No, she could swear that he wore them to lower the defenses of his clients, as most therapy sessions had to be conducted in a comfortable atmosphere.

Not that Kikyou was ever comfortable around Sesshoumaru. She could seethe and huff and throw her anger and frustration around all she wanted, and she'd still have an underlining fear in the pit of her stomach when he was near her. This fear had crept up when she first met him at the Kobun house, when she and Inuyasha were no older than fifteen, and Sesshoumaru had looked upon her with those deep, dark, unreadable eyes. Those eyes sent a chill of horror up her spine.

Of course it figured that _he_ would be the one the state would assign to for therapy sessions, although the thought had crossed her that he might have requested her case file, that it hadn't been some random coincidence. It was embarrassing enough that she had to attend such a trivial, unsophisticated _trend_ as therapy, especially because it meant people saw her as irrational. Deranged. _Crazy_. It wasn't that she cared what the masses thought _so_ much, it was that the reason she was forced to attend therapy in the first place faulted entirely on Sesshoumaru's younger brother.

His betrayal ran deep through her veins.

Thoughts of Inuyasha sent her mind reeling with rage, and she breathed deeply to rid herself of them. _Don't start talking about that_ bastard_. Don't let it slip._ Speaking of Inuyasha to Sesshoumaru would be a wish of confinement.

Sesshoumaru sighed again, bored, and pushed his glasses up onto his forehead, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers, a sure sign of exhausted annoyance. "Kikyou, we will get on with the session now. I am fully aware of that fact that you do not want to be here."

Kikyou's frown deepened, but she sat down on the couch after a few thoughtful seconds, and closed her eyes.

"Better." Sesshoumaru said, bringing his pen down to his pad. "Now, what is it that has you all _out of shape_?"

_Out of shape_? His choice of words flashed up another shot of anger, but she forced it down. She didn't need him to notice just how angry she was becoming. "I am not _out of shape_," she said in his same mocking tone, "I am _annoyed_."

"With what?"

"With nothing that concerns you."

"With my dear, younger brother?"

She stiffened. "Your _idiotic_ younger brother," she stated coolly on the outside and raged on the inside, "is none of my concern." Her hands folded neatly on her crossed knees. The hand hidden from Sesshoumaru's view dug fingernails into her own skin.

_Don't let him see it._ She chanted.

Sesshoumaru continued as if the conversation were a pleasant one. "What has Inuyasha done this time?"

Kikyou turned her head to glance up at him. "I haven't been anywhere near that bastard."

His only change in expression was the raising of his brow in a speculative manor. "How strange, my father called to tell me that you were at the party thrown last Saturday. _Personally_." He added at the end.

She showed the barest hint of a frown, but didn't answer.

His gaze didn't waver, and his mouth opened to spout more dirty, dirty words. "In fact, my father claimed that you spoke to Inuyasha, just as he was leaving."

_Don't show him your pain._

"Will you deny what my father has said?"

"If I do?" Kikyou asked, too quickly to sound innocent.

"Then I will know what you tell me are lies." His mouth twisted in the barest hint of a smile, and oh, he meant her lie to for sure. "But we know that, don't we? That you lie?"

It was enough. She'd been taunted by this narrow-minded _youkai_ for half an hour already, he'd insulted her, accused her of being crazy. Not in words, but in tone. She would take no more of his disrespectful attitude. She was from a holy line of Priestesses. Who was he, a filthy _youkai_ to even _attempt_ to mess with her?

"So let's try this again," he was saying, in the same cold, daunting voice, although his eyes had suddenly flared to life, fire burning within them, "what were you talking to my brother about?"

She snapped. "It's none of your business what we discussed."

"Oh?"

"Your brother…" her hands unclasped from her knees and her nails were now digging viciously into the leather couch, "your _moronic_ brother, skipping around me as if I – I – I were nothing but a one-night fling! As if I were nothing but one of his frivolous money-grubbing whores!"

"My brother-"

"He decided to go on a slum roll instead of talk to me!" She seethed, unable to contain her fury. "To go to some trashy bar with that perverted friend of his!"

"Now comes the question of what you were doing talking to him," he interrupted. "Our goal was to keep away from him. Don't forget what led you here in the first place."

"Shut your filthy mouth, Sesshoumaru! I know full well that I should stay away!" She raged. "But I don't have control anymore!" She was lost to herself, seeing nothing but his betrayal, his horrible, evil deed that had killed her, had turned her into the person she was today. "I need to control it!"

Sesshoumaru's voice lost its hard edge, and turned soft, although still cold as ice. "Kikyou, you must understand that you are merely a human, and as such, have no hope of controlling _hanyou_, even as weakened and sympathetic with humans as my brother is." He stood and went to the coffee pot that sat across the room. "Coffee?"

"No." She declined, and abruptly stood from the couch to start her pacing again.

He shrugged, "very well," and poured himself a mug.

"He was supposed to marry me." She ranted. She wasn't talking to Sesshoumaru anymore, merely rambling to herself. She could see it all happening again in slow motion, the way Inuyasha had looked down at her, the hate in his eyes. "I'd almost had him, too. What went wrong…?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head from across the room and she could see the way his face contorted into a look of dismissal. He though her crazy, but she wasn't. She wasn't crazy, she'd just… she'd been in love. She and Inuyasha had loved each other. They'd shared moments he could never share with anyone else. They'd _created_ something together.

That's right, the child. The child she'd carried. She could feel it, even now, growing in her stomach. Becoming real, more and more, until it _was_ real. She felt the child's weight, felt it kick in her womb.

"There's the baby to think about," she whispered.

She watched as Sesshoumaru froze, the sugar packet he had been carefully tearing open suddenly rived into tiny pieces and scattered sugar specs across his hands.

"Kikyou." He replied in what he probably thought was a calm, soothing voice. "There is no baby."

"Oh, there's a baby." She held an invisible protruding stomach. "Inuyasha doesn't want the baby, but the baby will be mine." She started to rock on the couch, her head shaking. "He'll have to take accept it. Inuyasha and the baby will be mine."

"Kikyou, you are-"

She felt rage. Rage so intense her head might explode. She wanted to kill him, be damned the child in her stomach! She wanted Sesshoumaru dead. Dead!

She blacked out. When she came too, Kikyou discovered she was restrained, on a bed in the middle of a white room. She knew this room, she'd been here before.

.o0o.

Inuyasha stepped into his fathers' giant, well-furnished office and shut the heavy wooden doors behind him. Immediately, he felt intimidated, and it wasn't because his father had called him in. The room itself was intimidating, decorated in golden-brown hues, complete with large, open windows that allowed sunlight to filter in and light up the vast space. A desk sat in front of the widows, impossibly large, and the giant, black leather chair behind the desk was turned out towards the window, a silhouette against the bright afternoon sun.

He opened his mouth to speak before he noticed the phone cord that ran from the front of the chair to the cradle on the desk and sighed impatiently, turning his head to take in the office as a whole, bored.

He didn't like it in here. Maybe it was because his father spent so much time cooped up in it, but it was more likely because it was the room Inuyasha always had to visit when he'd done something wrong. Something embarrassing. Something stupid.

That was today's case as well. Inuyasha hadn't been called in by his father for nothing. He'd screwed up somehow again. Now if he could only remember…

"Well, there's nothing I possibly could have done." Inoku Kobun said from behind the chair, pausing to hear the reply. "That's fine, I assure you. Yes, yes, of course." Another pause. "Alright, yes, I'll discuss it with you at tomorrow's meeting."

His father didn't say goodbye, just swung around and slammed the phone down onto the cradle, looking less than pleased.

Inuyasha cleared his throat, announcing himself. "Father, you wanted to see me?"

Inoku's head shot up abruptly. A small smile spread over his face and he swept his arm over his desk. "Ah, yes my son. Have a seat."

Inuyasha obeyed cautiously, sitting across from his father, the giant oak wood desk between them. He couldn't help but be a little suspicious of the abrupt change in Inoku's mood. As a second thought, he straightened his tie so he wouldn't hear any crap from his old man about his appearance.

"You look horrible." His father spoke in a light tone. "Your suit is wrinkled, where the hell have you been?"

So much for trying to escape a lecture. Inuyasha stifled a growl and smoothed out his lapel with the palm of his hands. "I've just come from a meeting with the people from Clearwater Support Homes. They want me to launch their campaign for building new shelter houses."

Inoku glared at his son. "Yes, I'd heard they were considering asking. You jumped aboard, right?"

Inuyasha hesitated, which was a mistake, and answered rather lamely. "Well, I'm not so sure…"

His father was quick to reply. "Not so sure about what? Are you not aware of what good this could do for the campaign? The polls would shoot through the roof in my favor."

"I know father, but-"

His face flushed red. "'But' is not a word you want to use discussing this matter. You will do the ads. Every commercial, every print ad, every speech, are we clear?"

"I'm twenty-two years old, you can't just-"

Inoku stood, leaning aggressively over his large desk and pointed a finger at his son. "While you live under my roof unwed, I can tell you to do damn well whatever I want you to do. You'll do well to remember that."

Inuyasha had leaned back slightly, but he dare not look away from his old man's eyes. It wasn't that he was scared of his father, but he was well aware of his strength and power, and while Inuyasha was damn strong and fast himself, he was still only _hanyou_ and his father would crush him if he stepped too far in the wrong direction.

Inuyasha was taller than Inoku, at six-foot-three he towered four inches taller to be exact, and his muscles were more defined to be sure, but Inoku had a strength that didn't just come from body mass. It was a strength that Inuyasha respected, although disliked all the same.

Inuyasha's mother loved to talk about her husbands' strength, as well as his kindness. Kindness that Inuyasha rarely saw himself, but which she insisted was there. She also liked to talk about how his greatness had been split up in two extreme ways between his two sons. Inuyasha's half brother, born of another _youkai_, had received Inoku's strong, silent will, his cold demeanor, and his cunning strategizing ability, which had helped in making Inoku such a great politician.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, had received Inoku's strong, stubborn will, his handsome looks, and his raging temper that flew out of control every now and then.

Inuyasha heaved in a sigh as his father sat back down, and nodded his head. "Fine. I'll do the Clearwater campaign."

"That you will. But there is another matter at hand that I wish to discuss with you." He placed his elbows on the desk and folded his fingers, peering at his son over his hands. "You are soon to be twenty-three years old, and I am not getting any younger. Soon you will have to take over my line of business."

Inuyasha couldn't hold back his snort of sarcasm. "Are you serious? You're a hundred years old. You'll live to be another three hundred, you're not going anywhere soon."

Inoku growled in warning. "Do not push your luck, boy. Who says I have to be weak with age to retire? I want to get out of this business within the next fifty, and you will be the one to take it over."

"Can't Sesshoumaru-"

"Sesshoumaru, while I do not necessarily agree with his carrier choice, does run a legitimate line of work. You, however, still laze around my house as if you were five, the only work you do are ads for sports clothing and appearances on television series. I have to force you to do anything charitable, and you fight me the whole way through!"

"And I'm not married."

"And you are not married!" He stood in rage and paced behind his desk.

"Sesshoumaru is married, with children on the way! He is stable and does not embarrass me!"

"He's thirty!"

"He did not embarrass me when he was at your age!" He leaned over the desk again, but this time grabbed onto his son's tie and pulled him dangerously close to his face. "You will listen to me, and you will listen well. You will find a woman to marry. At this point, I do not care if she is full demon or mere human, but you will find one and you will marry her, and you will do it by your next birthday, or so help me, I will disown you and you will spend the rest of your days penniless and homeless! Let us see if the ladies want you then!"

"Inoku, dear, what are you doing with my baby son?"

Inoku's face drained of color, and he let go of his son's tie, looking across the room at Inuyasha's mother, who stood in the doorway. She was dressed in her usual, elegant black dress suit; her medium length hair tussled around her shoulders and shopping bags hung at her hips.

"Ah, hello dear, Inuyasha and I were just having a little talk."

"So I can see.' She answered, and walked into the room, gracing her husband with a hug before turning to Inuyasha and smiling.

Inuyasha grinned back up at her. "Hi mom."

"Hi beautiful, how's my little boy?" She cooed and ruffled his hair as she sat down on the arm of his chair, giving him a half-hug. "Is daddy pushing you too hard?"

"Mom, I'm not twelve." He growled, not letting on that he wished he still was once in a while. Although it was a little embarrassing that his mom babied him so much, she was still the one person he could say he loved flawlessly.

"I know, hon. My baby's all grown up." She gave a typical motherly sigh and leaned into his shoulder. "Did your father ask you to get married yet?"

"He mentioned it."

Inoku grunted.

"Well you should listen to him, honey. Your father cares about you, he just wants to see you happy. Besides, I think a woman would calm you down a bit."

"Mom, I don't need to calm down, I need to go get some work done." He stood from his chair and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. More so than work, the conversation was getting a bit too personal for his liking. He bowed slightly to his father. "If that's all you needed me for-"

"Not so fast, we are not done yet." His father jumped up and rounded the desk, passing his wife, and stood looking up into Inuyasha's face. "Listen and listen well. You will find a girl to marry by your next birthday, or the consequences will be dire. Understood?"

Inuyasha had to bite his tongue. "Yes sir."

"Good." Inoku turned his back, walking back to his desk as Inuyasha spun on his heel and headed heatedly towards the door. "Oh, Inuyasha, let me give you a possible solution."

Inuyasha glanced back at his father over his shoulder, containing within him pure hatred he felt towards the man.

His father smiled a rather evil smile. "There is always Kikyou to consider."

.o0o.

"The bastard, why doesn't he just roll over and die?" Growled Inuyasha.

"Like a dog?" Miroku asked, hiding a snicker behind his lips.

After the awkwardly frustrating chat with his father, Inuyasha had stomped right on down to the front entryway where Miroku's security desk was located, and proceeded to rant about it. "Shut up," was the only words he could think to reply.

Miroku was leaning back in his chair, his feet propped up on the desk in front of him, glancing every-so-often at the multitude of screens that covered the gigantic property.

"You know what pisses me off more than anything?" Inuyasha continued, his long nails tapping annoyingly on the marble countertop.

"What?"

"He's been thinking about this whole stupid plan for a while! Like, since me and you-know-who broke up."

"Kikyou?"

He glared. "Don't speak her name out loud."

Miroku let out a snort, accompanied by an eye roll. "Okay, Harry Potter."

"You're funny." Inuyasha retorted dryly, clenching his fists. "You wouldn't be laughing if you were in my shoes, asshole."

Miroku grinned, sneaking a glance at a particular monitor that showed the classical room, where Sango was currently on screen vacuuming the large rug. "No, my friend. You see, if I were in your shoes, I'd just make Sango marry me and be done with it."

"Yeah, she'd _love_ that."

"I've got personality, Inuyasha. The ladies can't keep their hands off me."

"No, you're a pervert, Miroku, and that's why the ladies – especially Sango – can't keep from slapping you across the room." He started pacing in front of the desk. "I don't want to discuss your gross sexual habits; I need to figure out a way out of this."

Miroku shrugged and glanced at the monitors again. Sango had left the classical room. "A way out of what? Just find another bimbo to parade around in front of your father and be done with it."

"That's the problem, he wants a full on engagement and marriage, not just some cover up. He even told me I should go back to Kikyou if I didn't find someone else." Inuyasha gave an involuntary shudder.

"Yeah, we don't want her around again." Miroku agreed, dropping his feet from the desk and sitting up straight. "So why don't you find someone, then?"

"Miroku, have you seen the females I'm fucking surrounded by?

Miroku shook his head. "I know what you think, but some of them are quite smart. They can't possibly all be complete idiots."

Inuyasha shot a 'wanna bet?' glance towards his friend and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "No, the rest of them are crazy. Like _her_."

"Inuyasha, no female alive is as psychotic as Kikyou."

He groaned. "It's true."

Miroku chuckled and leaned his elbows on the desk. "Well, will it really be so bad to marry a bimbo? I mean, it's not like she'll be hard to deal with. She'll be easy enough to order around, right?"

Inuyasha made an indifferent shrug.

"And if you choose right, you'll have awesome sex."

"Miroku. I just can't spend the rest of my life married to a girl who listens to bubblegum pop and talks about nothing but how good-looking I am."

"You are rather good looking."

"I just…" He paused, ignoring Miroku's comment and leaning against the counter top. He lowered his lids half way and seemed to stare out into the distance. "I just want to find someone that won't drive me absolutely insane. I don't even need to love her; I just need to be able to stand her."

For the first time in a while, Miroku noticed how worn Inuyasha actually looked. His friend rarely showed such personal emotion other than rage, jealousy and annoyance, and it was a nice change to see his vulnerable side for once. Of course, he'd never call him out on it, but it was nice to see that his best friend was human, just like he was. …Or half human, anyway.

He had the sudden urge to help Inuyasha out for real.

"The only normal female that takes one step into this place is Sango." Inuyasha was saying, rambling on still about his female dilemma.

"Why don't you marry her then?"

"Who?"

"Sango."

"I would, if she wasn't like my fuckin' sister." He replied, standing straight and stretching his arms up in the air. "Besides, if I married her, I'd be too worried about who you'd end up with." He grinned. "No one else puts up with your crap like she does."

Gods, how Miroku knew that to be true. "Well, why don't you have a ball-thingy? And invite all the lovely ladies across the land and have them fight over you? We could have our best shoe makers craft delicate heels from glass."

"What?"

"Yes. And bikini's will be required and they'll compete in a K.Y. Jelly wrestling competition. Then you'll marry whoever wins. That way your wife will not only have the cunning strategizing abilities to bring down any female who dares to challenge her to K.Y. Jelly wrestling, but she'll be strong too! Strong enough for you to wrestle with her in bed." He winked.

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Inuyasha gave him a disgusted look. "You're missing my entire point. What I'm trying to get at is even if I found a girl I could stand I wouldn't want to marry now anyway. I just don't want to get married. It's so… final."

"You don't ever want to get married?"

"Look at my brother. He's married to Kagura, and he's miserable."

"No he's not, he loves Kagura."

"No, he's got a secret plot to do her in."

"I'd say it was the other way around." He snickered.

"Whatever. I just don't want to end up like him. Or like my crummy father."

Miroku sat back in his chair and placed his chin thoughtfully on his hand. "Hmmm… Well, what if there was another way to go about all this?"

"What other way? I've got two choices: marry a bimbo or marry a psycho. Either way, I'm screwed."

"You've got a third. Be disowned and get a real job."

"Don't make me hit you." He snarled.

"Hear me out, would you?" Miroku placed his feet back on the counter. "What if we got someone to pretend to be your fiancé? We could get a professional, have her move in here, throw an engagement party, wedding rehearsals, and a wedding ceremony…" He paused to take in Inuyasha's shocked features. "Well, we wouldn't actually have you guys married, that would defeat the purpose, but we could have her run off at the alter or something. Then your father would have to forgive you. It'd at least buy you some time, right? Maybe he'll extend your deadline to your twenty-fourth birthday instead of your twenty-third."

Inuyasha didn't speak for a few seconds, but when he did, his tone was etched with disgust. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. What, did you just come up with that dumb plan right now?"

Miroku shrugged. "Yeah. But it could work. We could grab someone like that chick we saved in the slums, she was pretty."

"She was a prostitute, Miroku. A fuckin' prostitute."

"Yeah, but she was pretty."

"I'll catch something."

"Oh, she wasn't diseased."

"Says you, and you're not a doctor."

He shrugged again, and turned back to his monitors. "My plain will work."

"I'm going to take a shower." Inuyasha growled, loosening the tie around his neck. "Don't think or do anything stupid, Okay?"

Miroku watched Inuyasha's retreat down the long corridor, and – making sure the coast was clear – jumped up and darted from behind the security desk, abandoning his post to search for the one person he could convince to help him out.

.o0o.

He found her in the piano room, lightly brushing grime off a large, black grand piano with a feather duster. He stood in the doorway for a bit, watching her work, listening to her hum a little tune.

Miroku loved everything about her. The way she tied her black hair up into an elegant ponytail, the way her voice sounded as it hung in the air after every sung note, the way she wore that sexy maids' outfit. Damn Inuyasha's father for being such a pervert. Those outfits positively screamed 'come and get me.'

Loving the view of her nicely-shaped backside as she bent over to dust the bench, he knocked on the doorframe and grinned as she turned to look at who had interrupted her.

Her light expression turned dark and foreboding, and she placed her hands defensively on her hips. "What?" Her tone was not welcoming.

Miroku winced, willing himself to remember exactly what he'd done lately to land on her shit-list. Did he do something at the last party? All he remembered was leaving early with Inuyasha, and she hadn't even been there. "Hi, Sango." He replied in a sing-song voice. He needed to butter her up if he was going to ask her for anything.

"Don't you 'Hi Sango' me, you lousy piece of crap." She retorted, snarling in a good impression of Inuyasha, her narrowed eyes never leaving his face. "Don't you even talk to me!"

"But I love talking to you!" He took a few steps into the room, and she took a few back.

"Don't you come in here! Get back to work before I tell Inuyasha."

Miroku shrugged. "So tell him. I'll let him know what a naughty girl you are, Sango. I've got proof."

Her face turned bright red, probably a mix of absolute embarrassment and pure anger. "You wouldn't dare." She challenged.

"Care to find out?" He'd walked a bit further into the room, hearing the door shut behind him, his smile widening.

In a haste to place anything in between them, Sango darted around the piano, now standing a good distance away. She glowered and pointed her feather duster in his direction. "No, I don't care to find out, and don't come any closer, or I'll scream."

He shrugged. "You scream anyway. Besides, this room is soundproof." He pointed to the piano. "Get what I mean?"

Her eyes darted from the piano to the sound-proofed walls in the large room, then fell back to his face. "You're a fucking pervert."

"Be careful, Sango, you're sounding more and more like Inuyasha every day." He crept slowing around the piano himself, waiting for the moment that she would make a run for it.

And she did, running as fast as the heels of her outfit would take her, making a dash for the door. Miroku was too quick for her, though, and tackled her to the floor, turning so he received the brunt of the fall.

Sango squealed and tried to squirm out from his grasp, but he rolled her over and pinned her down, a triumphant look on his jubilant face. "Ah-ha!" He cried out. "It's useless! Surrender to me!"

"Never!" She cried out, still struggling.

He shrugged. "Then face the consequences."

"Yeah? What consequences are those?"

Miroku held her wrists down to the hardwood floor and moved them up above her head, leaning down so his face was close to hers. "I need your help with something."

Sango rolled her eyes. "This is not the right way to ask."

"Well, this is the right way to convince you." He lowered his head and nudged a sensitive part of her neck with the tip of his nose, hearing a soft gasp escape from her lips.

"What the hell do you want?" She asked, trying to struggle out from under him again as he switched his grasp so he held both her wrists in his left hand. "And don't breathe on me there!"

"I want you to help me help out Inuyasha." He moved from the lobe of her ear where he was blowing softly, and traced his thumb across her jaw line. "His father finally threatened to write him out of the will."

Her eyes rolled again, although this time it was with much more effort. He had her. "Well we didn't see that one coming or anything. What about it?"

"Inuyasha needs to find a girl to marry by his twenty-third birthday, which we all know is about six months from now, or he's penniless." He placed a light kiss on her clavicle.

Pretending to ignore his presence entirely, she tried with all her might to give a sigh that seemed nonchalant. "Well, what do you suggest we do?"

"We find a girl to pretend to be his fiancé to get his father off his back." Miroku replied, looking suggestively at her cleavage. "We'll have to pay her, but I think I know just the girl for the job. She'll just need some… convincing."

She hadn't missed his suggestive glance. "What, like _this_ kind of convincing?!" She retorted, anger flushing through her cheeks. "Get the hell off me!"

He shook his head, and had to use more strength to keep her from squirming away as he trailed a small path from her clavicle to her chin with the tip of his tongue. "No, be quiet and let me ravage you." He ignored her snort of frustration. "And no, not _this _kind of convincing. _This _kind of convincing I leave solely for you, Sango."

"I hate you. You're a pervert."

"No you don't. And… well, yes, I am." He leaned down so his lips barely touched her own. "This particular girl lives on the streets. We ran into her when she was in a bit of trouble and helped her out." He lightly brushed his mouth over hers, and smiled as she gasped again. "I'd say she owes us a favor, and will probably be more than willing to help us out for the right amount of cash."

"Let me get this straight." She breathed into him. "You want to pay a street bum to pretend to be engaged to Inuyasha?"

"She's not a street bum, really."

"Oh really? What is she then?"

"A prostitute."

Sango paused before she answered. "A prostitute?"

He nodded.

"That's. _Disgusting_." She seethed. "He'll never go for it."

"Oh, he'll go for this one." Miroku moved his arm down to caress the curve of her hips. "Come on, Sango." He pressed, oozing as much lustfulness into his voice as he could. "Help me out a little here. Come help me find her and bring her back."

She shook her head. "Inuyasha will kill you."

"No he won't." He whispered into her lips before closing the gap and pressing down lightly, just enough to get a rise out of her. He moved his hand to her inner thigh and rubbed sensually, drawing circles on her skin. "Come on, help me?"

She was too breathless to speak, her chest heaving with deep breaths, her face flushed with lust. She shook her head.

"Please?" He pleaded softy, watching her eyes droop lazily in pure need. If she didn't crack soon, his plan would fail.

"Ah…" She moaned as he hit a sensitive spot on her thigh. "Oh Gods…"

"Sango…" He whispered. "Help me."

"Ah. Ah! O-okay." She stammered. "Okay, Okay, I'll help-ahh!"

Grinning, Miroku released Sango and stood, brushing himself off, and nodded down at the confused look that now graced Sango's face. "Okay, we'll head out this weekend! It's going to be fun!"

Another shade of color passed over her face as she realized what just happened. "Miroku!!! You fucking PERVERT!!!" She shouted, throwing her feather duster at him just as he darted out the door.

Her shouts followed Miroku down the hallway as he made his way back to the security desk. He snickered. Oh yeah. He still had it.

.o0o.

Kagome woke up, blinking at the bright sunlight filtering through the tattered window curtain. For a few blissful moments, she forgot what had happened to her last night. She forgot what happened to Akane, and it wasn't until she sat up in the bed and looked down to see vomit she'd missed cleaning up the night before that her memory cleared.

It was a shock to her system, and she wasn't ready for the intense depression that swept through her. She could feel her face throbbing, and stood to look at her bruised face in the mirror.

_I should go to the police_. She thought, although it was a thought she'd never follow through with. The police wouldn't believe her, and even if they did, what would they do when they found her attackers beaten severely? Or dead? She shuddered before pushing the image of her beaten attackers to the back of her mind, then turned and cleaned the mess she'd missed last night.

Akane was gone. To where, Kagome had no idea, and wasn't sure she wanted to know, either. Her roommate had obviously gotten up and had a small, undernourished breakfast of ramen. There was a bowl left unfinished on the table, room temperature. The electric bill lay, thrown down carelessly, next to it. She felt her stomach flip as she picked up the unopened envelope and proceeded to rip open the back, her heart pounding.

'_Not more than fifty. Please, not more than fifty…'_ She pleated to herself as she tore out the bill and flipped it open.

"Oh no…"

Defeated, she sat down heavily on the single chair in the kitchen and placed her face in her hands, trying her hardest not to cry. She was strong, and this was just another ordeal she needed to overcome.

Filled with sudden rage at her situation, hot tears prickling at her eyes, she stood and shoved at the table, slamming it into the row of lower cabinets. She didn't stop there. Storming over to the bed, she tore down the few posters that littered the wall and picked up the few books she owned, throwing them heavily against the door.

Breathing hard, her mind a blank, she slumped down onto the tattered bed and fell back so she was staring at the ceiling fan that never really worked.

One hundred and sixty-seven dollars. _One hundred and sixty-seven dollars_? Only two people lived in the apartment, how could that be right?

The bill was still crumpled up in her hand, and she unwrinkled the paper and went over the details. The one night that had cost the most was then Akane had thrown a party in the apartment and had a couple people over. Kagome had made a point of being away that night, she'd slept in the church chapel down the street for warmth.

It was very possible it had been the night that made the bill so expensive, but what the heck had they been doing to use so much power?

Okay, she didn't really want to know, but this bill was sure to get their electricity shut off, which wasn't good. She was going to have to talk to Akane. Kagome was just sick of everything. The drugs, the people, the lack of money, Akane's prostitution… It was just making her lose her mind.

It was mid-afternoon by the time Kagome finally calmed down enough to close her eyes, and she drifted off into a fretful light sleep, exhausted. She didn't wake up until Akane slammed the door, announcing her arrival.

"I'm home!"

Kagome shot up in bed and blinked a few times before Akane came clearly into view. "A'kne," she yawned groggily, glancing out the grimy window above the bed. It was dark out. "What time is it?"

"Mmmm, about eight o'clock, I was just gunna take a hit, then hit the street." She passed Kagome reaching for her stash, which she kept in the bedside table, and seemed surprised when Kagome grasped her wrist. "What's up?" She asked, curious, then her brows drew together as she took in the welts on her face. "Kagome, what the hell happened to you?"

"Akane, are you sober right now?"

She smiled humorously. "Unfortunately."

"Can I talk to you?"

Akane hesitated. "Can I hit this first?"

"I'd rather you didn't." Kagome took an uncertain, deep breath.. "It won't take long, I promise."

Akane glanced nervously from Kagome's pleading eyes to the drawer that held her assumed happiness, before sitting down next to her roommate, a placid smile on her face. What is it?"

"I want out."

She looked stunned at how fast the words had come from Kagome's mouth, without reservation. "What do you mean, 'out'?"

Kagome turned fully to face Akane, her eyes pleading. "I can't stand it anymore, Akane." She said. "I feel like I'm wasting away. I feel sick all the time, I've lost so much weight my clothes don't fit me anymore and I haven't eaten for a day and a half. I'm tired constantly, and I'm actually scared to go outside." She let out a sigh, relieved to finally voice her thoughts. "I want out."

"Out? Kagome, what-"

"You're on some type of drug all the time, Akane, and because of it we've got no money. We can't pay rent. You see this bill?" She waved the paper in front of Akane's face. "One hundred and sixty-seven dollars for this month's electricity. What are we going to do when we've got no heat? What happens when the water is turned off next? Then when we get evicted? Where would we go? What would we do?"

Akane's mouth hung agape, staring at Kagome. "Well… I have friends we could-"

"Akane, I'm not staying with your drug-addict friends, I'm not comfortable around them." Kagome stood and paced in front of her roommate. "You have to understand, I don't want to do this anymore."

"You've only been out once, Kagome, give it time." She smiled sympathetically. "I know the first time doing it is hard, I really do. But it gets easier, I promise."

Kagome shook her head violently. "No, you don't understand, I didn't, I mean…" She stumbled on her words, trying to find the right ones to explain. "I didn't get paid."

"You mean some jerkwad jacked off and ran?"

She ignored the question. "You have to understand that I can't 'give it time.'" Her voice became more emotional. "I don't want to end up dead. I'll have to find some other way to make money, but I won't be doing _that_ anymore.

Akane looked thoughtful for a second. "Well, I've been thinking about buying into selling powder. It's good money, easy, and no sex involved unless you want it." She grinned.

"I don't like that stuff, I don't want to be reliant on it."

"No, you don't want to use it either, I care about you too much to let you even try it, but you can sell it without using."

After another headshake, Akane placed her hand up to her forehead. "I know it sounds bad Kagome, but look at me. I know I've got an addiction, but the whole sex thing?" She bit her lip. "It gets easier with time. I've never been attacked, I've never been forced to do anything I didn't want and I've never been threatened. People make this business out to be far worse than it really is."

"No, Akane." Kagome kneeled in front of her friend, placing her hands on the girl's knees. "No, I _was_ attacked."

Akane was taken aback. "What? When?" she gasped.

"Last night."

"Are you kidding me? Kagome, why didn't you say anything?! Did they do _this_ to you?" She gestured towards her face.

"Yes." She shook her head. "I got home and you were asleep, and I was so exhausted that I passed out. And then you were puking all over yourself, and you were so sick, I just made sure you weren't dying, when could I have told you?"

"Kagome, what happened? Were you held up at gunpoint or what?"

"No, they me up and tried to rape me. I tried to fight them but they were too strong, I couldn't hold them off."

"Oh my god, Kagome!" She stood, pulling Kagome up with her. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there!"

"It's not your fault, Akane, don't feel guilty about that."

"But wait," she pushed Kagome out at arm's length; "you said tried. They tried to rape you?"

She nodded. "They tried. I'm not too sure what really happened, I passed out a couple of times, but I think someone saved me."

"Saved you?"

"Yeah, it was so strange." She sat back down on the bed, Akane following slowly after her. "I woke up and every one of them was unconscious and bleeding terribly. Some were probably dead." She rested her face in her hands, trying again to block the gruesome image. "I ran from there as fast as I could move."

"You totally lucked out, you know." Akane said with awe. "Most girls in the business don't survive attacks like that."

"That's the problem, Akane, I know how lucky I was, and I don't want to push it again." She shivered. "I'm so scared, I'm afraid to step outside. I keep seeing the faces of my attackers. I can't take it anymore. I won't able to make any money, I won't be able to get another job."

This was true. Kagome didn't want to go outside. Her body refused to let her even open the door. "This isn't working for me, Akane, I can't do it anymore. The whole reason I'm trying to raise money in the first place is to break my brother out of the orphanage, but with your coke habit and my refusal to work, how the hell am I going to do that?" She faced her roommate again, placing their hands together, her eyes making direct contact. "Can you understand where I'm coming from? This," she opened the drawer, revealing the cocaine, "is costing both of us, not just you. You need to get off it so we can pay rent." She paused then added: "We don't have anything we can pawn."

For some reason, the last sentence stroke a humor chord in Akane, who started to giggle. It was a lame, but contagious giggle, and soon Kagome was giggling right along with her.

"Well, don't pawn the clothes off your back!" Akane laughed, holding her stomach. That shot them into more laughter, and it last a good while. After a few minuets, they calmed down, and Akane placed a reserved look on her face.

"You're right, Kagome." Akane nodded. "I need to get myself off this stuff. I've tried a few times, but it never stuck. Maybe I can kick it this time around."

"That's good to hear." Kagome shrugged. "I guess I'll just keep looking for a job. I- I'll try to go outside tomorrow, I guess."

"What kind of job will you be able to do? The economy isn't the best, you'll be lucky to get anything at all."

"I don't know, Akane. I just can't go back out on these streets anymore." She looked up into Akane's eyes, determination hardening them. "But I promise that I'll find something."

Reassured, Akane stood and opened the drawer containing her stash and grabbed the small bag of cocaine, along with a small, square mirror, a razorblade, and a small straw. She held it up in front of Kagome's face. "I'm just going to take these and dispose of them."

Kagome nodded, the first big, genuine smile Akane had seen from her in a while. "Okay." She clapped her hands together. "And Akane?" She added, as an afterthought.

Akane had been half way to the door, and turned her head over her shoulder to answer. "Yeah?"

"Thank you so much. I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for you."

Akane shrugged. "Don't mention it. You saved me also." She held up the bag containing the cocaine and winked. Then she opened the door and was gone.

.o0o.

Akane shut the apartment door behind her and inhaled in a great, big, breath of air. She headed down the hallway and into the stairwell, kneeling on the stairs, where she tore open the bag of white rocks and proceeded to chop it up onto the small mirror with the razor.

She was focused. Determined. The talk with Kagome had been hell for her, and she'd been using every inch of self-control she had not to tell her to shut up and then grab the drugs and run.

Once the powder was chopped fine enough, she took out the small straw and closed her left nostril while placing the tip of the straw in her right and breathing in. She drew the straw even with the white, powered line and inhaled her source of life.

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then euphoria hit her and she stretched out, forgetting about the bag of goodies on the stair at her side. She let out a sharp bark of laughter. She laughed at how stupid her roommate was, at how anyone could possibly believe she could get herself off such a great thing. How Kagome could possibly think Akane could achieve such a feat.

And then depression hit her full-force, and guilt ran through her body. No matter how naïve Kagome was, Akane still thought of her as a younger sister. She still loved the girl.

But Kagome didn't understand how hopeless Akane's life had become.

Akane would never be able to break her habit.

And she would surely bring Kagome down with her.

.o0o.

Dun, dun, DUN!!!! Oh, the drama! What will happen to Kagome? To Inuyasha? To Akane?!! What's with Kikyou and Sesshoumaru? Sango let's Miroku fondle her? And where the heck is Souta?

Just a few questions I might answer in the next chapter. Or not. :D We'll see.

Here you are, spiffed up and re-edited on 1/12/09. Enjoy, and please review!

27 pages of fanfictiony-goodness!

~SugarRos


	3. Tempted Offer

A/N (Long one, but important! Sorry!)

Hello again everyone!

This chapter contains heavy mentioning of child molestation. These scenes are really hard for me to write, but I feel they play an important part in Souta's relationship (or lack of one) with Kagome. I need to beg everyone who reads this story from here on out, that if you are EVER suspicious of any kind of child abuse, please, PLEASE report it in. There are many ways to do so, and you will be helping said child.

No, I've never been molested, and this story is not me venting my frustrations on a horrible childhood.

I've changed my pen name again. So remember, no more TaffyBandit. It's SugarRos. No e at the end. Not SugarRose. Just SugarRos. This will be the last pen name I change.

This chapter is dedicated to Keiko89, for leaving me awesomeness reviews! You helped me whip this chapter out faster, and I hope you like it! On to the chapter!

SugarRos

/-\-/-\-/-\

Chapter Three: Tempted Offer

/-\-/-\-/-\

"Give me my shoe back!"

"Come and get it, you little twerp!"

"This isn't funny guys, common!"

Souta sighed from where he lay on his bed and shook his head, chancing a glimpse from his bed at the two older boys currently playing 'catch' with the youngest in the room.

"Oh, I think it's funny." Said the tallest, a wide grin spread across his face. "I'm laughing."

"Give it back, or I'll-"

"Or you'll what, geek?"

The young boy glanced back and forth between his tormentors before a look of solid resolve crossed his face. "I'll… I'll… I'll tell the Headmistress on you!"

The two older boys looked at each other for a moment before bursting out into fresh laughter.

It was all giving Souta a headache. This place was vile, disgusting, and he hated the other boys and girls that ran around like wild animals, cussing and hitting and teasing each other until he just wanted to curl up under his raggedy old bed and die.

"Kagome…" He muttered out under his breath, grinding his teeth as he sent all his anger into his memory of his older sister. "It's all your fault." He mumbled out, clenching his fists together.

To say that he blamed his sister for his misery would be an understatement. She had abandoned him here, within these dank, dark walls, with only his nightmares to keep him company.

One of the boys threw the shoe too far, and it hit Souta in the head, bouncing off and landing beside his bed. He bent over and picked the shoe up, handing it over to the young boy who had scrambled over to get it.

"Here." He muttered, looking up at the kid.

He didn't look Souta in the eye, but squeaked out a thank you before rushing off to his own bed on the other side of the room. The larger boys who'd been playing catch with the shoe gave Souta menacing glares before stalking off to bother somebody else.

Souta wasn't scared of the older kids that ran amuck in the Orphanage. He knew none of them would touch him. He was, after all, a very special orphan to the headmistress, and she would easily beat the crap out of anyone that harmed him.

Souta hated the fact that the headmistress took such an interest in his well being, for it wasn't his state of mind she wished to protect.

No, his state of mind she'd fucked up already. Souta knew he wasn't normal anymore. He was twelve, not dumb.

You'd think that at twelve years old he'd be able to fight off the headmistress, for what she put him through was horrible. It made him want to puke just thinking of what she made him do.

But he couldn't blame the headmistress for everything. He hated her, but he hated Kagome more. He was her little brother. Her own flesh and blood. And she had left him here to whither away. She had left him here to drive him crazy slowly. Oh so slowly.

"Souta! Souta!"

His head jerked in the direction of the voice, and Rin came running up to his bed, her eyes wide and horrified, and a sudden chill crept down his spine.

Oh no.

"Rin, what is it?"

"Rin saw the headmistress." She explained through heavy breathing, her small body expanding with each breath. "The headmistress is coming for Souta. Rin thinks Souta should hide!" Tears had welled up in her eyes.

Rin spoke as if she were two, not six, like she actually was, and that in itself broke Souta's heart.

The only person in the world he cared for was Rin. Sweet, innocent Rin who put up with drunken beatings from the headmistress. Souta could relate. Because even though Rin hadn't been used for the headmistress's business yet, she still didn't deserve to be the brunt of a drunken rage.

"She's on her way up here?" Souta asked, placing his hand on her tiny shoulder, not missing her slight wince. "To get me?"

She nodded, her eyes tearing more.

"Don't cry, Rin, I'm going to hide under my bed. You haven't seen me today, okay?"

She nodded and ran back to her bed stand at attention, knowing that the headmistress demanded they do so when they were in her presence.

Souta dived under his bed and shivered, curling himself into a small ball, willing himself to be invisible.

She was coming for him again. She would bring him into her office, and... and...

He couldn't stop the fat tears of fear that rolled down his cold cheeks, and he prayed that she wouldn't find him. That no one would rat him out. He could hear her angry footsteps stomping up the stairs. She was screaming, cursing, shoving random kids into the wall as she made her way to the third flood, slamming open the door to the long bedroom where all the orphans slept. Where Souta lay quivering on the hard floor under his bed.

And there she was, in all her drunken glory, standing in the doorway, her usual glass of whisky in one hand, stumbling only slightly.

The kids in the room all scampered to the side of their beds, standing at attention as the headmistress walked in, glaring at each child as she passed them, smacking a few across the face, and spitting on a boys' forehead.

Her eyes moved from one to the next, staring them down, making sure they knew someone was in for it. "Well," she asked, "where is he?!" Souta swore he could smell the alcohol off her breath where he lay. "Where's that little brat?"

She stopped at last in front of a bed, which one Souta couldn't tell, but realization hit him and filled him with dread as he heard Rin's whimpering voice. She grabbed at Rin by the front of her shirt. "Where. Is he." She spoke, her sentence pointed and choppy.

Souta peeked out from under his bed as Rin tried to shrink away from the evil woman's hands. "R- Rin doesn't-"

The headmistress slapped her hard across the face, cutting her off and making Rin cry out in pain. "Little _bitch_!" She practically screamed. "_Where is he_?!!"

Rin shook her head. "No, Rin doesn't know! Rin doesn't know!!" She cried louder, tears now streaming down her face.

Souta cursed under his breath. If the headmistress didn't find him soon, she'd probably settle for Rin and take her down to the office instead. His body screamed at him to stay hidden, but his heart couldn't take it if Rin was dragged off in his place.

Biting his lip, he slowly inched his way out from under the bed. "I'm here, Headmistress." He said quietly, wiping away the last of his tears. He stared hard at the ground, not wanting to look at the woman who would soon make him wish he was dead.

The headmistress snapped her head to glare at him, her eyes flashing with anger. "_You_!!!!" She roared. "What do you think you're doing you little _shit_?!! Did you really think you could hide from me _forever_?!!!"

He winced and kept his head down, saying nothing, as he was taught to do.

She grinned. "That's right. Be an obedient little child. You'll make your dead parents proud, unlike that slut-of-a-sister you're related to!" With that, she grasped onto his wrist and yanked him out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

This time, the kids wisely opened up a path for her, their eyes on the floor as Souta's were. She led him into her office, where an older man sat, slightly sweating, perspiration dripping down his temples. Souta shuttered involuntarily as the headmistress shoved him into the front of her desk. Dazed, he slid down onto his knees so that his head would stop swimming. She looked at the older man, who was probably in his early forties, and held out her hand. "That will be one-hundred-fifty."

"Dollars?" The man's voice made Souta shudder. Not again.

The headmistress smirked. "Hardly. That's one-hundred-fifty-thousand." She said. "You get one hour in this office."

The man bit his lip. "It's a bit pricy…"

"Have you seen the child?" She grabbed Souta roughly by the arm and yanked him up, lifting up his chin with her finger. "Look at his skin. He's exactly what you've asked for."

The man reached out as if to rub a smooth cheek, but Souta winced back, clearly showing his disgust. The Headmistress grabbed onto his chin, forcing him to stay put as he felt the man's sweaty palm slide across his cheek.

His stomach heaved.

The man nodded, seemingly satisfied, and handed over the cash without saying a word. "He seems like he'll put up a fight."

"Oh, he will." The headmistress answered confidently as she shoved Souta back to the floor and eagerly grabbed at the wad of hundred-dollar bills.

Oh God. Not again.

Souta would have done anything to be out of the office at that moment. He would have done anything for a sharp object to stab himself with.

He knew what was coming.

Fucking bitch of a headmistress. How was she able to get a job like running an orphanage anyhow? Souta couldn't believe how anyone would want to hire someone who could harm kids the way she did.

As the headmistress left, shutting the door behind her, the man turned and rubbed his hands nervously together, looking at Souta up and down, undressing him with his eyes.

It wasn't like Souta was six, when this first started happening to him. He was twelve years old now.

He knew what was going to happen.

The man closed in on him, and Souta let out one last anguished cry, before he was hurt the way no child should ever be hurt.

/-\-/-\-/-\

"Come on, Sango, it was around here somewhere…"

Sango snorted as she trudged along behind Miroku. "What, you can't remember? How drunk _were_ you?"

"Why, Sango!" He replied without turning around. "I wasn't drunk at all! I was merely accompanying Inuyasha out to get something to eat." He tilted his head upwards to read the street sign, not really knowing exactly where they had been that night. The place _did_ seem familiar, but that didn't amount to much. He was sure, though, if he could just see the ally they'd found her in…

"_Here_?!" The hint of disgust was evident in Sango's voice.

Miroku was currently on a mission to find the girl who'd been attacked that fateful night, and bring her back to help Inuyasha with his current dilemma. It was an awesome plan. An ingenious plan. A master plan. And no matter how many reasons Sango came up with for why it would fail miserably, he was sure that it would absolutely, positively work.

So sure, in fact, that he was sneaking behind Inuyasha's back to complete his awesome, ingenious, master plan.

With this thought in mind, he turned to look at Sango, not watching where he was stepping, and promptly tripped over someone in the middle of the sidewalk.

Sango let out a sharp laugh.

Miroku cursed. He pushed himself up off his stomach, wincing at his hurt ribs and pride, and turned his head to see what he'd tripped over.

His eyes widened. His heart pounded.

…Could it be?

A girl with dark hair and a pale, pale face sat slumped up against the corner liquor store, her legs stretched out across the sidewalk, which is what he'd tripped over in the first place, her arms limp at her sides, her mouth slightly open.

Miroku turned to sit on his rump, his mouth agape in disbelief. It was her. It had to be. The memory of her struggling under the tight grip on the gang flashed through his mind. It was her, alright. The same facial features, the same dark hair, although she seemed thinner than he remembered, dirastically so, which was strange. It hadn't even been a full week since he'd seen her.

He wondered if she'd eaten anything since he'd last helped in saving her life.

She wasn't wearing the lipstick he remembered. She wasn't even dressed the same. It was warm out, but she had dawned a very large, baggie hoodie, and tan pants that were obviously well warn. She obviously wasn't working the streets today, although her kind tended to only work at night.

"Miroku?" Sango asked, kneeling beside him, having successfully fought off her laughter. "Is that her?"

"I think so."

"You're right, she's not bad looking. In fact, she kinda reminds me of-"

"Sango." He interrupted, reaching out ever so tenderly to place his finger on her pulse at the base of her neck. "Hold that thought."

She didn't seem to be breathing.

Quickly, he placed the back of his hand to her lips, staying as still as possible.

He couldn't feel a thing.

Sango took in a short breath behind him, realizing what was going on. "Is she dead?"

"I can't tell." He quickly placed two fingers on the jugular of her neck. A few seconds later confirmed she was not dead, and Miroku let out a heavy sigh of relief. He was glad that at least one of Sango's explanations about why his plan would fail was not true. The girl was _not_ dead already. "She's alive."

"Oh, thank goodness." Sango's relieved sigh followed his own as she placed a worried hand over her heart. "The last thing we need is to discover a dead body in the middle of the street."

Miroku scooped the young girl into his arms, worrying over the fact that it didn't take much to do so. She was too underweight to be healthy. "We need to get her to a hospital."

"Okay." Sango agreed, falling into step behind him again, a worried frown playing on her face. "Miroku, you have to realize now how ridiculous this scheme of yours is. It's not going to work! The girl's half-dead! You need to forget this crazy scheme so we can go back to the mansion and let Inuyasha figure out who he'll marry on his own, whether it be a real relationship or not."

Miroku ignored her as they made their way quickly down the sidewalk. Sango should know that he wasn't going to drop his plan just because of a little setback. This mystery girl would get better, and she would agree to come live in the Kobun mansion, where she'd be fed as much food as she could eat and have a warm bed to sleep in. He'd make it happen, approval from Inuyasha or not.

"Miroku, listen to me, we can't just-"

"We're not going to just leave her in the hospital, Sango" He interrupted, walking as fast as he could towards the nearest hospital. The tall, white building with the emergency red-cross sign could be seen for blocks in the slums, and he headed towards it as if it were the mystery girls' lifeline.

Which it probably was.

"I didn't mean to just abandon her." She bit back. "She obviously can't afford medical care, we'll have to use Mr. Kobun's emergency credit card."

Miroku smiled at Sango's willingness to help out. She wasn't cruel, after all, and although she apposed Miroku's awesome plan with all her might, she wasn't going to leave the girl to die. Sango was so great. He had to resist the urge to lean over and kiss her. He could do that later. Right now he needed to make sure Inuyasha's way out stayed alive and well.

"What's her name?"

"Huh?"

"Her name?"

He almost tripped again, having been caught off guard by the question. "Uh… I don't know." He answered, having finally made it to the block the hospital was located. "We didn't really get the chance to ask her that night when she was laying unconscious on the pavement."

"What, you _left_ her there before?!" Sango's voice was accusing as she held the door open to the emergency entrance. "_Miroku_!!!"

"Goodness, woman, I'll give you details in a second." He argued in an uncharacteristic tone as they raced inside the hospital and up to the counter. "This girl needs medical attention quickly." He urged calmly to the nurse who was residing behind the desk.

"Fill this form out." The nurse drawled, her eyes lazy, gum popping in her mouth.

Miroku had to bite his lip to keep from raising his voice. "I'm sorry miss, but you seem to misunderstand me. We found her in-"

"Listen, fella," she interrupted, popping her gun again, "you need to fill out this form or we can't-"

Sango smacked her hand down on the counter, the sharp noise making the receptionist jump in her seat. "No, _you_ listen, lady!" Her voice had raised, almost shouting, and every head in the waiting room turned to the commotion. "This girl is _dying_! Get a freaking doctor down here before I turn you in to your superiors for refusing treatment to this girl while she's on the brink of death!"

The receptionist stared back wide-eyed at the fuming girl standing in front of her, and slowly picked up the phone in front of her and dialed an extension. "Paging Dr.Hojou, paging Dr. Hojou, emergency patient up front, emergency patient up front." Her voice rang throughout the hospital, and Sango threw Miroku a self-righteous smirk.

"That," she stated, "is how to get things done."

Miroku gave a nod of thanks to the secretary, who glared back a reply, and then turned to Sango. "With that attitude of yours, you'll be coming everywhere with me. In fact, I might need you to talk to some bookies…"

Sango opened her mouth to retort, but a tall, boyishly handsome man in a white lab coat came rushing towards them, accompanied by two nurses and a stretcher. "Is this her?" He asked, looking over the pale girl Miroku was clutching in his arms.

"Yes." He placed her down on the stretcher, and the Doctor motioned for the both of them to follow as they marched in a quick pace down various white halls.

"Her name?"

"We don't know." Sango interjected.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You're not family?"

Miroku shook his head. "We found her on the sidewalk, unconscious, so we rushed her over here."

"So no known medical history…" He shook his head. "…No history of any sort, I need to know if she's allergic to anything."

"She doesn't have pockets on her, no wallet or ID." Miroku added, trying to be as helpful as possible. She was, after all, the main ingredient to his plan.

"This isn't good. I can't do much for her without medical history or insurance."

Sango whipped out the credit card. "We're covering the insurance part."

Dr. Hojou's eyebrows knitted together as they pushed through swinging double doors, entering another hallway. "Such generosity." He replied, slightly weary. His eyes darted from Miroku and Sango to the young girl who looked dead, seeming to be arguing with himself. "Alright then, I'll try and bring her to long enough to give me some information. Finish filling out the forms as best you can and hand them to Ursula up front."

Nodding, Miroku grabbed onto Sango's elbow and led her back towards the lobby as the Doctor turned into a room on the right, barking out directions. "She's extremely undernourished, I need an IV drip ASAP. We need to wake her up, people, and we need to do it fast! Nurse, cut her sweater off, I need access to her chest!"

/-\-/-\-/-\

"Mr. Houshi?"

Miroku stood as the Doctor came to stand in front of him, clipboard in hand, smiling slightly. "Doctor." He nodded.

"How is she?" Sango asked as she stood next to him, slightly worried.

"Oh, she's fine. She's stable, and we're pumping nutritional fluids into her. I say she should be up and around and eating normal foods in three days or so."

"That's a relief." She replied, sighing visibly, wrapping her hand around Miroku's upper arm and squeezing.

"I take it you were able to wake her up?"

Do. Hojou nodded, looking down at his clipboard and reading from it. "Yes, I was, but she was pretty out of it, I didn't get much information. She gave a first name only of Kagome, blood type O Negative… She's allergic to bees, but that's about it, she went out again after that…" His smile widened. "Basically it's a pretty simple process to recovery from here on out."

"Any physical wounds?" Miroku asked. "Other than being too thin?" Sango cast him a knowing glance.

"Nothing recent." He replied. "There are some bruises that indicate she might have been attacked maybe a week or so ago, but that's about it."

Miroku nodded and looked down at Sango. "Can you call Inuyasha and tell him to come down here right away? Don't let him know why."

"Miroku, he's not going to come unless I give him a reason."

"Tell him I got jumped."

Her eyebrows drew together in distaste. "He'll throttle you when he comes and sees that you're _not_." She huffed. "He doesn't like showing affection, and worry for _you_ that's not deserved will push him over the edge."

"Tell him anyway, I'll take the blame for it."

"Hell yes you will." She muttered, plucking her cell out of her purse and slandering outside where she wouldn't bother the sick or the injured.

"Make it believable, would you?" He called out after her, and got a wave-off response. Satisfied, he turned to the Doctor. "Dr. Hojou," He started, thinking of how to word his next sentence now that Sango was out of earshot, "this is not the first time I've come into contact with that girl."

"I'm sorry? I'm not sure what you're getting at."

He could tell the good Doctor wasn't lying. His face was one of slight confusion. "You see, my friend and I ran into her last week, while she was getting attacked, and-"

"You saw an attack happen?"

"We intervened and helped her out, but she was pretty out of it, and… uh… ran away afterwards." He lied, not wanting the Doctor to know they'd abandoned her before. "Anyway, I was down here specifically because of her. My friend is interested in hiring her for a job."

Dr. Hojou smiled.

Taking it as a good sign, Miroku continued. "But I do need to know one thing… Can you find out if her attackers did… uh, _more_ than bruise her?"

His smile faded, replaced by tightly drawn eyebrows. "You want to know if she was raped." He stated, his voice flat.

Miroku pushed away the urge to wince and nodded.

"She wasn't raped."

"I'm sorry?"

"She wasn't raped."

His eyebrow raised, curious on how the Doctor knew for sure. "How do you figure?"

"I asked her when she came-to for a bit, because of the bruises. She was out of it, but she denied being raped." The hint of a smile reappeared on his face. "In fact, she blatantly told me that she was still a virgin."

"Ah. Well, that's good news, isn't it?"

"Mmm." The Doctor replied, his slight smile still showing. "Well, if there aren't anymore questions, then..?"

"No, no, I'm quite done."

"Well then, you should be able to visit her tomorrow morning."

"I'll be back then." Miroku watched the Doctor turn and head back down the hallway, and then broke out into a grin. Virgin. A _virgin_!! She was a _virgin_!!! Oh, his plan could not be going any better.

Now Inuyasha was _sure_ to agree to his scheme!

He could feel the insanely-happy mechanical laughter bubble up to his lips, and was just about to throw his head back for a good old-fashioned evil-ish loud laugh, when Sango appeared next to him, a scowl on her pretty face, choking any thoughts of anything humorous down his throat.

"That was _not_ easy, you jerk." She growled, not at all unlike Inuyasha, and Miroku suddenly noticed that she was a bit wet around the eyes.

"Are… Are you _crying_?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Well, you said to make it believable, didn't you?" She wiped at her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "I told him I didn't know what the hell was going on, but they wouldn't let me see you and you were bloody."

"Oh, Sango. I didn't know you cared." His hand moved around towards her backside.

She brushed him away. "Don't think I care _that_ much."

"So he bought it?" Miroku's grin remained, not discouraged in the least.

"Oh, he bought it, alright. I made sure it was believable." She pointed her index finger right into his face. "But remember, this is on you. He's going to blow a casket when he gets here."

"Somehow," Miroku replied slyly, failing at all attempts to repress his grin, "I think I'll be able to calm him down."

/-\-/-\-/-\

Inuyasha hung up his cell phone and jammed it into his pocket, rushing down the long hallway that led from the kitchen to the front ballroom, then up to the front door and out to the large drive where his car was waiting for him.

He leaped inside and turned his engine, gunning out of the driveway and into the street at record speed.

Fucking Miroku. What an idiot. Poor Sango sounded absolutely devastated.

Her voice drifted through his head again, her sobs stabbing at his heart.

"_What." Inuyasha had opened his cell phone and growled into it, annoyed that someone was bothering him during a peaceful lunch._

"_In-hic-Inuyash-sha?"_

_Eh? "Sango? Is that you?"_

"_Oh Inuyasha!" She wailed into his ear, her voice wracked with sobs._

"_Sango, what is it? What's wrong?" It had to be something terrible. Sango didn't call him for no reason, and she certainly never called him crying unless it was serious. "Calm down and tell me."_

"_Inuyasha, it's Miroku! He-"_

"_What, did he try anything out of line?" He growled. "I fucking swear to Gods, I'm gunna kill that guy! If he did anything to hurt you, I'll-"_

"_No, Inuyasha, he was protecting me! He was protecting me and then they shot him and he wouldn't stop bleeding!!" She sobbed. "And now the doctors are saying that he won't wake up, something about blood transfusion, and I don't know!! Oh, Inuyasha, I don't know what to do!"_

_Inuyasha felt his heart stop._

_Oh no._

_No, no, no._

"_Sango, where are you?" She gave him the address of the hospital. "I'm coming right now. Stay right there, don't go anywhere, okay? I'm coming."_

"_Inuyasha, wait, I-"_

"_I'm coming right now." He hung up the phone, grabbed his keys, and was off like a shot._

Inuyasha growled at the old hag who was taking up all the road in front of him and honked his horn multiple times as he tried to swerve around her. It was proving to be difficult, as it was midday, and people were out and about.

His thoughts raced to Miroku. He'd just been out on a freaking date, a day he had asked to get off specifically so he could take Sango out. A bite to eat, some hand-holding, whatever, and then they were coming back.

…What in all seven of the hells had happened? Who the fuck had tried to attack Sango?

The scene of the prostitute he'd saved being attacked only a week ago flashed through his mind, and he wondered if maybe it was the same type of attack. Maybe they'd tried to get Sango and Miroku had stopped them? The thought made angry blood surge through his veins and he had to bite his lip to keep from losing it and changing forms. His new car was not the best place for him to go full demon.

Keh. Fucking Miroku. Always having to play the hero.

He had to get to that hospital and force the damn doctors to fix Miroku up good. And if they couldn't, he'd be transporting him somewhere that had capable doctors who could.

Inuyasha would never admit it to himself, much less Miroku, or anyone who ever lived for that matter, but he was attached. He considered Miroku to be his best friend, letch or not, and he didn't know what he'd do with himself if he was killed off by a mere bullet. Miroku was stronger than that. He had to be to have Inuyasha as a best friend.

The drive to the hospital seemed to take forever, but he reached his destination in less than twenty minuets, a record, and screeched to a halt outside in the emergency parking lot, yanking his car open and dashing into the air-conditioned waiting room.

The smells of the sick and the half-dead assaulted him, and he had to put his hand up to his nose to try and quell his intense senses. He hated hospitals. He didn't like sick people, and he hated the smells of medicines and sterilization serum.

He couldn't really locate Sango through the thick hospital smells, but after a few moments he saw her and rushed over to her hunched form. She was leaning over her knees on in the middle of a row of hard, plastic chairs. Poor girl. He could smell the slight tinge of tears that had been shed. She was probably still sobbing uncontrollably.

He reached out a tentative hand to give the only comfort he knew how, and was surprised to see her slump down across the chairs and mumble a little.

She was asleep?

…Wait a second… Warning bells went off inside his head. Something was off. Sango had been terrified. Sobbing. Panicked less than half an hour ago… And now she was sleeping, peacefully almost, with the slightest of smiles playing on her lips.

His eyes narrowed, and he grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her awake.

Her eyes popped open and grew wide when she realized it was him standing over her.

"Sango, where is he? Where's Miroku?"

"Uhhh..." She let out smartly. Then she grimaced. "Inuyasha, don't be mad at me, it wasn't my fault, he-"

Before Inuyasha could even begin to comprehend what Sango was babbling about, Miroku walked up.

"Inuyasha, you're here. I-"

He was abruptly cut off as Inuyasha's clawed hands grabbed onto his shirt and lifted it, showing impeccably toned stomach muscles. "What the-?" Inuyasha muttered as he felt around Miroku's stomach and chest area, searching for a bullet or stab wound. "Where is it? What the hell?" He looked up into his friends' surprised face. "You're fine!"

"I would be if you'd stop feeling me up."

Inuyasha hands dropped to his sides, his brain not quite catching up yet. "You're not hurt! You're not bleeding or dying!"

"No, I'm not. What would make you think otherwise?"

His eyes widened, realization finally dawning, and pure bliss flooded his senses like nothing had ever done so before. His body shook, and he bit back the large sigh of relief.

Miroku was okay. He was okay. He was alive and well and not bleeding.

But that meant…

Inuyasha turned slowly to face Sango, who sat watching the whole thing wearily from her seat. A low growl erupted from his chest, and her eyes widened in panic.

"Wait, Inuyasha, it wasn't- I mean, I didn't- Miroku, tell him!!" She squeaked out, red in the face.

"Sango." Inuyasha growled out, grinding his teeth together in anger. "Why the ever-loving-_fuck_ would you lie to me about Miroku being on his death bed?!!"

"Inuyasha, I didn't, it-"

"Keh! _I almost had a fucking heart attack!!_" He raised his hand up to swipe at her, and he could smell the spike of fear that jolted through her. "_I thought Miroku was fucking _dead_!!!"_ It wasn't so much that he was angry that she'd lied to him, although he was surprised that she had. He was angry that he'd acted like such a… woman… in front of complete strangers. His cheeks felt hot. They were probably bright red.

"I know!" She grit her teeth together and pointed. "And I'm sorry, but _Miroku_ told me to get you down here, and you and I both know just asking wouldn't do it!"

"If Miroku's not dying, what the fuck am I in a hospital for?" He threw his arms up in the air to show just how frustrated he was.

"This way." Miroku replied and grabbed onto Inuyasha's wrist, leading him down the hallway.

"This had better be fucking good, Pervert. Cause I'll be beating the shit out of you if it isn't."

He dragged him to a large window that looked into a room, where a single bed was placed off to the right. Different machines were hooked up to a girl, monitoring her breathing and whatnot. He frowned at the girl lying in the bed. She was thin and pale, and he recognized her immediately.

"The whore we saved in the ally?"

Miroku shook his head. "She's not a whore."

"The girl does… _that_ for money. She's a whore." He ground his teeth together in frustration. He could feel a migraine coming on.

"Things aren't always what they seem, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha turned on him in a flash, grabbing at the lapel of his shirt and pointing a sharp claw between his eyes. "Miroku, if you think for one-fucking-second that I'm going to have _anything_ to do with… with _whatever_ the fuck it is you're scheming, I'm going to rip you to shreds."

"You wouldn't kill me, Inuyasha."

"We're in a hospital. I'm rich. They'll revive you in a second."

Miroku's hands were up in the air, waving in a white-flag sort of way and tried his best to keep the light grin plastered on his face. "Hear me out for a second, would you?"

The Hanyou growled, but let go of his shirt and took a step back.

"Thank you." Miroku stated, straightening his shirt. "Now, remember that conversation we had? About grabbing some girl to pretend to be your fiancé?"

"Is that what this is all about?"

"Well, yes, I thought that-"

"You thought fucking _wrong_!!" His hand slammed against the wall on his right, making a young nurse that was passing by jump. "I turned the idea down, _remember_?"

"Yes, but-"

"She's a fucking _prostitute_!!"

"No, she's-"

"No girl I _touch_ is going to be a fucking _whore_."

Miroku opened his mouth to state that he was sure Inuyasha's ex-girlfriend had been with many other guys as they'd gone out, but wisely said something completely different. "Inuyasha, she's a virgin."

"And I sure as _hell_ ain't- …What?"

"She's a virgin. She wasn't whoring herself out. My guess is when we stumbled across her… predicament; it'd probably been her first job, gone horribly wrong."

He could see the muscles in Inuyasha's jaw twitching. "How do you know this?"

"The doctor confirmed it. She's just dehydrated and malnourished. But once she gets better, which should be within the next couple of weeks… Well, she'll look positively stunning." He glanced over at Inuyasha, who stood stock still, but wasn't interrupting, which was a good sign. "Once she wakes up, we can let her in on our little scam. There's got to be something she needs, why else would she turn to prostitution? Plus, think, Inuyasha. …Do you really want to be forced into a marriage with Kikyou?"

Inuyasha forced down a frustrated scream that was fighting it's way up his throat. The fucking pervert was right. He didn't see a way out of it. It was a last-ditch effort, but it could _possibly_ work. And Inuyasha did _not_ want to be in a forced marriage, whether it be with Kikyou or someone not crazy.

Biting his lip, he looked through the window at the pale figure, then placed his hand on the doorknob. "Can she have visitors?"

Miroku shook his head. "Not till' tomorrow morning."

"Fuck that. Give me a few seconds to think it over." He shoved open the door, then slammed it behind him , locking it for good measure, and pulling the curtain over the window after giving Miroku one last angry stare, then turned to the bed.

He slowly made his way to the bedside and peered down at the girl, looking starched out in the stiff paper gown and intense hospital lights. Her hair contrasted horribly with her pale white skin.

He frowned.

She certainly didn't look like much. But she _was_ in the hospital. No one looked good in the hospital. His hand went out to touch her hair. Greasy. Not at all like he'd remembered it from the ally that night. Her lips weren't painted that deep red color; they matched the rest of her skin, making her look unearthly.

He let out a sigh and clenched his fists. "Fuckin' A, how does Miroku come up with this shit?" He growled out, agitated that he was even seriously considering it.

"Sou…ta."

Eh? He looked down at the girl, wondering if she'd awoken. Her brows were drawn, and her mouth turned down, but her eyes were closed. She was still out.

Out and dreaming.

"Souta…"

Who the hell was Souta? Her pimp? Inuyasha bit down on his tongue. That was probably it. Argh! Why was he putting himself through this! He should just run off into the woods and never come back, that would ruin the stupid marriage plains his father was concocting!

"…save you… Souta. I'll save you."

….Okay, well… Prostitutes didn't normally save their pimps. Inuyasha frowned. "Who are you trying to save, wench?"

She rolled her head to the side and moaned.

He waited a few seconds before he asked again. "Who are you trying to save?"

"….Souta…" She moaned again. "…brother… No more beatings… Save you."

It was like he had deflated. His anger was gone and only slight annoyance remained.

Holy shit.

He was actually going to do it.

With a growl, he turned and yanked open the door, slamming it in his wake. He turned to see a slightly worried Miroku and gave him a curt nod. "Fine. Stay with her here. When she comes to, call me. Then offer her the job, got it?"

Miroku nodded vigorously.

"Good. I'm going home. I've got a migraine." With that, he turned and stomped out of the hospital.

/-\-/-\-/-\

It was hours later when Souta had finally been released and allowed to go up to the sleeping room. He lay on his bed, his stomach mashed to the sheets beneath him, unable to cry anymore. It was useless to do so. What was the point? What was the point in being strong? In being brave? What was the point in keeping up his spirits if they could crumble and disappear so easily?

Oh Gods, was he ever in pain. It had hurt so much. It had hurt _so_ much. He could already feel his mind blocking out the worst of it, and he was left with a dull ache that throbbed mercilessly throughout his body.

'_Ow...'_ He let out a choke, felt a taste in his mouth that he absolutely hated, and picked up the top sheet of his bed, placing the rough fabric to his tongue and licking it over and over. Anything to get that _taste_ out of his mouth. A sob welled up in his throat, but it was dry, and only came out as a gurgle.

'_I don't know how much more I can take.'_ He thought bitterly, burying his head into his stiff pillow and willing himself not to let out an anguished wail. He couldn't be too loud. The headmistress would punish him for making noise, and he didn't want to be punished more than he had already been today.

No more.

…This was all his fucking sister's fault. The bitch.

The last memory he held of her sprang back into his mind.

_He woke up to see her kneeling in front of his face, a finger pressed tightly to her lips as a sign of silence. "Souta," she whispered, "I'm going to be gone for a few days."_

"_Where are you going?" He whispered back, sitting up in his bed._

"_I'm getting out of here and making some money, then I'll be back for you, okay?" She gave him her best smile and then turned and tiptoed quietly towards the window, opening the pane slowly, inch-by-inch and easing her leg out, turning to give Souta one last thumbs-up sign._

"_You'll come back for me? Promise?" His voice trembled._

_She winked back at him. "Wait for me, Souta. I'll be back before you know it, and I'll have a home for us to go to. And then it'll be just us. No more cleaning toilets for the headmistress!" She smiled one last time and waved. "I love you kiddo. I'll be back before you know it."_

_And then she was gone._

_And Souta was alone._

Ever since that moment he had held his sister's last words at heart. He had believed that she would be back for him soon. That she would save him from the chores they'd had to do back then.

But oh, how things had changed. Souta wasn't doing chores anymore. The headmistress wasn't making him get onto his hands and knees to scrub toilets. She was selling him off by the hour like some animal.

'_Be back before I know it my ass_.' His bitter thoughts leaked through his body and stung his heart.

His sister was the biggest liar in the world.

He could only imagine what she was doing now. He knew that she spent most of her time selling her body to strangers, the headmistress had told him such. What other job was a girl her age going to get?

What the hell had she been thinking?

'_She didn't want you anymore.'_ His mind explained. "But she said she'd be back." He answered.

'_And you can see how that worked out.'_ The voice in his head was sarcastic, making the sting even worse.

He was old enough to understand that his sister was selling her body. She had probably forgotten all about him.

'_You were dead weight.'_ His mind reminded him. _'You were bringing her down, dragging along behind her. She didn't want to take care of you. You were too needy.'_

It was no use arguing with the voice anymore. He'd given up on really doing so long before now, and he believed the voice with all his heart.

His sister didn't want him anymore. She didn't want him holding her back. Didn't want to bother taking care of him. No, she'd rather be whoring herself out. A slut. That's what she was. A slut who enjoyed the disgusting act of sex with anyone as long as they paid. A bitch who'd abandoned her brother in a place that was slowly killing him from the inside out.

"Kagome..." He whispered, and he wished he could cry more to ease his pain. "I hate you." Of course it didn't happen. He wasn't even allowed the privilege of tears. "I hate you." How absolutely cruel. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you."

"Who does Souta hate?" A small voice asked, tearing him from his thoughts.

He turned his head over to see Rin leaning up next to his bed, her eyes wide and hesitant, and her thumb tucked firmly in her mouth. He frowned, wondering if she'd heard anything coming from the headmistress's office earlier. He didn't feel like answering questions about any sounds she might have heard. "What are you doing up, Rin?" He asked, trying to keep his voice light and forcing a small smile. It was the best he could do.

Her thumb came out of her mouth with a small 'pop', and she grasped the sheets of his bed. "Rin couldn't sleep." She murmured. "Rin heard Souta crying. Is Souta okay? Is Souta hurt?" Her eyes were as large as they could possibly be. She was honestly worried and slightly frightened.

It crushed him to find out, though, that she'd heard his tears of pain from the office. He smiled again, as best he could, and shook his head.. "No, I'm okay, Rin. Just a bad day. You should go back to sleep."

"Can Rin sleep with Souta?" She asked hurriedly, as if he'd refuse her.

Not that he ever could. She was his to protect. Months after his sister had not returned, he'd sworn that where his sister had failed in protecting him, he would succeed in protecting Rin.

Rin shuddered, her whole body shaking. "Rin is scared. Evil lady will hurt Rin and Souta a lot. Rin doesn't want to be alone."

Souta frowned. Then sighed. "Sure Rin. Come on in." He lifted up the blankets and let her crawl next to him. She smiled and snuggled into him, falling asleep almost instantly. But Souta couldn't' sleep. Other than the dulling pain, he could only lay awake and wonder about their current situation. Wonder if he and Rin would have to spend the rest of their lives in the orphanage of someone who had such control over the both of them.

"No..." He whispered to himself. No, he refused to spend the rest of his nights and days doing dirty favors so the headmistress could earn some extra pocket money.

No, before she could make him suffer again, he'd kill himself.

He'd rather be dead than go through what he had been through so many times before.

Souta got no sleep that night. He lay in bed, his body wrapped securely around Rin's tiny frame, wondering how he could possibly keep her from meeting the same fate.

/-\-/-\-/-\

Okay, I caught a rather large mistake I made in chapter two, but it'll be some time before I can fix it… Dammit.

In the second chapter Inuyasha mentions that Sesshoumaru is married to Rin. That is horribly wrong, he's actually married to Kagura… Sorry about that.

In this story, Rin is Souta's fellow tortured orphan… poor girl.

-munches on dove chocolate-

…Also, sorry about the little divider things between scenes… I just got a Mac for an early birthday gift, and I can't freaking figure out how to post the regular dividers on this thing!! It's driving me insane!

But my Mac also makes me happy! Because I've started a DeviantArt account! And would you know, I've already got a picture for this fic up on my page! You can view it at:  It's for this chapter, so you should be able to guess the scene easily! And hey! Leave me a message if you'd like!

SugarRos


	4. Prepped Deceit: Stage 01

A/N:

Hello, hello!

And I'm back! I think this is the first time I've ever completed a chapter in such a short period of time! Thank my new beta, Lostxx!! She gives me a good kick in the rear every day and makes me desktops of my favorite anime/manga as rewards! I love her::loves::

We've got some more Souta angst, but you should expect that in every chapter from here on out… Sorry, I don't mean to torture the characters so (okay, maybe I do a little…)! But I promise this story has a happy ending!! …Maybe! XD

Also, from here on out, each and every chapter will be dedicated to the reviewer who gives me the most inspiration!

This chapter is dedicated to Ro0tin4Kagome, who was the first to post a review for chapter three, and who made me feel like an awesome writer for making her all emotional:loves: Thank you, R4K!!

.o0o0o0o0o.

Reviews answered:

Keiko89: No problem! I loved how you replied to my message, it really helped out! And no worries about the headmistress getting kicked… I am an extremely revengeful person… It can sometimes show in my writing! XD

Tifa Sohma: Thank you, I'm glad you were able to understand things a bit more! It will only get clearer from here on out, although there might be a few crazy twists coming… O.O;

Lady KCanssandra: Misdirected hate is horrible, isn't it? But then again, so is what's happening to Souta! But Kagome is strong-willed and determined, and I honestly believe she'll reach her goal! XD

EM: Look! No more waiting:D

.o0o0o0o0o.

On to the chapter!!

SugarRos

.o0o0o0o0o.

Chapter 04: Prepped Deceit: Stage 01

.o0o0o0o0o.

…beep….

"_Akane, what are you _doing_?!!"_

…beep….

"_Kagome! What are you doing here?"_

…beep….

"…_Is that… what I think it is?"_

…beep…. …beep….

"_It's just a little, I need it! It was hurting so bad!"_

…beep…. …beep….

"_Akane, that was our _food_ money! Don't tell me you-"_

…beep…. …beep…. …beep….

"_Kagome, I needed it, I couldn't-"_

…beep…. …beep…. …beep….

_Tears. Hopelessness. Hunger pains… "Akane… What will we eat? …What will we eat?"_

…beep…. …beep…. …beep….

"-Skittles?"

…_Huh?_

"No thanks."

…_Where am I?_

"But they're Skittles!"

…_I'm warm._

"I know what they _are_, thank you, I just don't want any."

…_Who is that?_

"But they're supposed to melt in your _mouth_, not in your _hand_."

…_What the-?_

"Miroku. That's M&M's. Idiot."

It was as if Kagome had broken through the surface of dark water that had been pressing around her forever. The voices that had seemed so far away and muffled had suddenly become clear, and she became all too aware of her surroundings. Finally, she mustered enough strength to open her eyes, which felt as if they'd been glued together, and blinked excessively at the bright, florescent light that shone down from the bleached-out ceiling.

The pain hit her all at once, her body aching, her head throbbing, and she tentatively turned her head and looked up hazily at the IV drip hanging next to the bed. She followed the thin tube of fluid that ran from the drip to her hand, which was stuck with a needle, pumping her with nutrients. A heart monitor was keeping track of her heart rate, which had been the source of the constant beeping she'd heard as she came to. Why was she in a hospital?

Then, suddenly, a thought hit her that sent waves of relief flowing heatedly through her body.

She was _alive_.

She had been sure she was dead when she'd left her apartment with the mindset that she was never going back. Screw Akane. She couldn't deal with the drugs. She couldn't deal with Akane's lies.

"Are you sure? Skittles can melt too, can't they?"

That's when Kagome realized she was not alone. Turning her head to the side, she blinked, rather confused, at the two people only a few feet away from her bed. The man was sitting down in a chair while the woman leaned against the window sill, shaking her head the way an adult would to a child. "It's not chocolate, it's hard candy. Would you just shut up and eat them already?" She huffed.

Kagome watched them for a few minuets, not really understanding why she was in a hospital room with two complete strangers. She cleared her throat, which came out more like a gargled choke. Her throat was parched.

"Hey, she's awake!" The female exclaimed, her hair flipping over her shoulder as she spun around at Kagome's strangled noise. She darted for the hallway. "I'll get the doctor!"

Lifting her chin, Kagome looked up at the man who had immediately come to her bedside. It took a lot more strength then it should have, and it made her head spin, but a few seconds later she felt the uneasiness drift away, and she was able to look up at the rather handsome black-haired man staring down at her.

"Hello!" He said in an overly cheery voice, a charming smile spread across his face. "Feeling better, are we?" His teeth were really white.

She opened her mouth to speak, but only managed to croak out a few unpleasant sounds, surprised again at how raw her throat felt.

"Do you want some water?" The man asked. She nodded, and he hurriedly picked up a glass of water and tipped it to her lips gently. "Slowly now." His voice was deep and smooth.

…Who the hell was he?

She gulped down a few mouthfuls before signaling she'd had enough, and managed to wet her throat enough to utter a few words. "…Where am I?"

The man smiled again, and although she'd never met him, she felt more at ease than she probably should have. "You're in the hospital." He replied smoothly. "Me and my… coworker found you out on the sidewalk a few blocks from here." He cocked his head curiously. "What happened to you? You were half dead."

"I…uh…" Her mind was a little foggy. She didn't remember stopping or falling anywhere, just being so tired, and so hungry… no food for days…

…Wait.

"What day is it?" She croaked out, feeling as if she'd been asleep for hours.

"Saturday the twenty-seventh of June."

Assuming it was still the same year, it had been two weeks ago when she'd found Akane in their apartment snorting up another line of coke.

Tears sprang to Kagome's eyes, the memories of betrayal flooding back clearer than she'd have liked them to. "Two weeks…" She muttered to herself. She'd left the apartment in a rage after what she'd seen. Akane had promised to help her. Had promised to kick her disturbing, money-eating habit and help pay the rent. But it had all been lies. And the money that could have gone to wonderful, filling instant ramen went to cocaine instead.

It had left them utterly helpless. With no money coming in from Kagome's reluctance to work the streets, and Akane spending her earnings on powder, they had absolutely nothing to keep them going.

'_Scratch that.'_ Kagome thought bitterly. _'Akane had enough of that junk to keep her going for a while. But I…'_

"You were out there for two weeks?" The man asked, his eyes wide, still standing above her.

She'd almost forgotten he was there. "I don't know…" She said, her voice now working a bit better. "Maybe… I think so… Can I have some more water?"

He nodded, and placed the cup to her lips again. This time, she drank eagerly, emptying the cup. She could feel the cool liquid sliding down her throat into her very empty stomach.

Oh wow, was she ever hungry, and her insides seconded that thought with a low, rumbling growl. The man standing beside her bed let out a loud, hearty laugh, his grin spreading even wider across his face.

"Want me to grab you something from the cafeteria?" He asked, and she nodded her head vigorously.

"Not just yet, Mr. Houshi. We need to get Miss Kagome's stomach strong enough to handle solid foods." The doctor stood in the doorway, smiling a soft, kind smile, and walked over to the bedside, picking up a chart hanging off the steel bed handle. "And your female companion had an emergency call from her employer and had to rush off." He then turned to look down at Kagome. "You seem to be doing a little better, Miss. Do you remember what happened?"

"Sort of…" She rasped out. "I think it's been about two weeks since I left my apartment… It's all kind of fuzzy in my head."

"Two weeks?"

She nodded.

The doctor smiled. "Okay, well, a touch of amnesia due to malnourishment and dehydration, but you should regain your memory over the next few weeks." He held out his hand for her to shake. "My name is Dr. Hojou, I was the one that fixed you up. I've got your first name, Kagome, but can you give me your last?"

She took his hand and shook it limply, not having the strength to grip very hard. "Higurashi. Kagome Higurashi."

Nodding pleasantly, he checked off something on the clipboard. "Okay, and how old are you?"

"Seventeen. Eighteen in March."

"Blood type O, correct?"

She nodded again.

"Alright, Kagome, you'll be here for a few more days until I see a jump in weight-gain, but it shouldn't be too hard. You're rather healthy despite your lack of eating. I'll send some Jell-O in right away; your stomach should be able to handle that. Sound good?"

"Yes, thank you very much."

With a smile and a nod, the doctor departed, leaving her alone with the grinning man again. "I haven't introduced myself properly." He said. "My name is Miroku."

"Kagome."

"What do you do, Kagome?" He sat back in the chair and placed his hands casually behind his head, his grin never leaving his face.

"Ah, well, nothing, really. I used to work at the docks, but that was a bit ago. Finding work is… hard."

"Mmm." He replied in agreement, and she couldn't help but feel as if he was scoping her out for something. "You seem familiar to me."

"Do I? I don't recognize you at all." She realized how brusque that sounded and cleared her throat. "Forgive me, I'm not really feeling all that well. I'm not trying to be rude."

He laughed a pleasant sort of laugh and grinned even wider. "No worries, it seems like you've been through a lot."

"I've had my fair share of misfortune." She muttered, darker than she'd have liked to sound.

Miroku paused before he spoke again, and she could hear a softness in his voice that hadn't been there before. "Kagome, you're only seventeen? Where are your parents?"

She didn't answer him right away, but looked past him out the window. "I'd rather not talk about it. We've been on our own since I was very young, that's all that matters."

"We?"

"My younger brother and I."

"How old is your brother?"

Kagome cracked a small smile at the question. "He'll be thirteen in only a few months… A teenager already…"

"And where is he?"

She sighed before she answered, the face of her younger brother flashing through her mind. "I wasn't able to take him with me when I ran from the orphanage to find work. I couldn't support him. At least there he has a roof over his head." Miroku was silent, waiting for her to finish. "The plan was to make enough money to adopt him out myself. Of course, I was a fool to think it would work. I was too young to get any real work when I ran away, and I'm not even eighteen yet. I can't legally adopt anyone until at least then. …How foolish I was…"

The room was silent for a long while as Kagome's words sunk in. After a few moments, however, Miroku cleared his throat.

"Kagome, I have a proposition for you that you might want to consider."

.o0o0o0o0o.

"Wake up, little toy."

Souta's eyes snapped open wide, and his body went rigid. Immediately, hid arms tightened around Rin's small form, which was still asleep and cuddled next to him. He could feel her pressed against him, heart beating, alive, small. She'd given him a strange sense of comfort this night. He hadn't had any nightmares, which was extremely unusual. Normally, his dreams were filled with pain and giant hands that did horrible things to him. But not this night. Oh, how he'd give anything to stay asleep forever next to Rin.

He didn't really understand what had woken him up until he felt the warm breath on the back of his neck, making the hair on the back of his neck stand straight out. "Wake uup." The headmistress sang her words, making Souta shiver in disgust. What time was it? Was she still drunk?

The room was light, so it must have been morning. Which meant that the headmistress hadn't even been to bed. He was in for another horrible wake-up call.

Wanting to hold out until the last possible moment, Souta pretended to still be asleep. Maybe she'd leave him alone this time. Maybe she'd grow tired of trying to rise him and she'd play with someone else.

Of course, he should have known better than to hope. The headmistress didn't get the same amount of joy out of messing with anyone else. She had been focused on him and him alone since his sister had up and abandoned him.

"I know you're awake, you little _fuck_." She whispered harshly into his ear. "And if you don't get up, I'll make things much, much worse for you." She brushed her sharp nails along the base of his hairline, and he had to repress another shudder of revulsion. "You think you can escape me?" She hissed, the stench of whisky reaching his delicate nostrils. "Get dressed, I have a customer waiting."

'Go away, go away, go away, go away!' Souta screamed in his head. Maybe if he stopped breathing and just died...

The headmistress stayed the way she was for a few more moments as Souta tried to drag out his time. When he didn't move, she huffed in annoyance. "Fine." She said, and for a fraction of a second, Souta really believed she was giving up. His heart barely had enough time to soar, however, before it came crashing back down to earth. Before Souta knew what was going on, the headmistress had scooped little Rin up into her arms, who had immediately woken up and started to cry due to loss of warmth, and stomped towards the door, the small girl held captive under her arm.

"No!" Souta shouted, realization hitting him smack in the face. He jolted up and threw back his covers as he jumped out of bed. "No, wait!" He cried out, his heart pounding. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" He ran after the headmistress, desperate to get Rin away from her. He latched onto her ankles as if he were throwing a tantrum. "Please! _Stop it_!" Rin didn't deserve what the headmistress would be putting her through. Rin didn't deserve it.

"Too late." The headmistress seethed. "She's old enough now to take on business like you do." She bent her head low to the ground, her nose inches away from Souta and grasped onto his chin, ignoring Rin's frightened wails. She grinned and chuckled an evil sort of chuckle. "Besides, you shouldn't attach yourself to her. If this customer likes her, she'll probably be adopted." She sniggered. "_If_ you know what I mean. Rin is rather pretty. She'll make some man extremely happy." She then detached herself from Souta with a swift kick to his chest, making him cry out in pain and curl into a ball on the floor. "She's not like you, you little _pervert_. I don't need her for business like I need _you_."

And with that, she slammed the bedroom door in his face, waking up all the other kids in the room who hadn't already been awakened by Rins' crying. Souta stood, shocked at what had just happened. He could hear Rins' high-pitched screams echoing down the hall.

No. No! _Nonononono_!!! Not Rin. _NOT RIN_!!

Before he could stop himself, he flung the door open and rushed down the wooden stairs two at a time, turning the corner into a hallway and launched himself up against the headmistress's office door.

It was locked. Bolted.

Souta let out a strangled, frustrated cry and he pounded against the door in a frenzy. He _knew_ what was about to happen to Rin. He knew, and he couldn't do a damn thing about it! That fucking bitch would torture her, mess her up and kill her inside.

He could only listen as Rin cried out, begging whoever was in the room with her to stop. But they didn't stop. And her cries became louder, and louder, and louder until she was all but screaming.

Shaking his head, horror-struck, Souta slid down to the floor, defeated. "N-no..." He whispered to himself, as Rins' cries faded further and further away. "Oh God..." He choked out in sobs. "Rin... Nooo..." This was all too much. He couldn't stand it anymore. No more.

No more.

"_FUCK YOU_!!" He shouted out, through the door. He wasn't going to be pushed around anymore.

Souta knew what he had to do.

.o0o0o0o0o.

The frail-looking girl stared up into his face as she shoved another spoonful of Jell-O into her mouth. "…A job?"

"Yes," Miroku replied evenly, "a job. My employer has a rather appealing opening that I think you would be quite perfect for." He grinned. Wow, was he ever lying through his teeth. It was a good thing Inuyasha had called Sango back to the mansion. Otherwise she'd be blowing his cover. "He's willing to pay you an amount he believes to be fair for your..." he searched his brain for the right word, "…services."

A look crossed her face, and she pulled the spoon from her mouth and shook her head. "Sorry," she replied, her eyes narrowing, although she blushed a deep red, "I don't do that."

Miroku cocked his head to the side. "Don't do what?"

She glanced up at him and seemed annoyed. "You know," she said. "_That_."

"What, prostitution?"

She squeezed her eyes shut at the word, and he could swear she shivered a little. "Yeah, that."

"Oh, dear me, no. My employer is not looking for _that_ kind of service." He couldn't help but chuckle at the miscommunication. "The service you will be doing will be a bit more professional."

Her nose crinkled. "What, then? Porn?" Her arms crossed over her chest and her bottom lip jutted out defiantly, her Jell-O momentarily forgotten. "Because I won't do that either, I'm not-"

"Goodness, no!" He outright laughed this time, much to her chagrin, and waved his hand in front of his face. "No, this job won't require you to take any of your clothing off." _'Yet.'_ He added to himself. "That is, unless you want to of course, there will be no objections, I'm sure." He moved on so she couldn't mule over that thought too long. He didn't' want to scare her off before his plan had a chance to work yet. "Anyway, you'll have to move into the mansion, and you'll be living there for a good six months, if not up to a year."

Her jaw went slack. "Mansion?"

Miroku couldn't help but grin again, continuing on before she could ask any questions. "Yes, mansion. This is a full-time job, will require much more than forty hours a week, and you'll be on beck-and-call to our employer. You'll also have to do quite a bit of lying, I'm sure that's not a problem, though?" He whipped out his PDA and slipped the little magnetic pen from it's holder, pressing it down onto the screen. He waited patiently for Kagome's confirmation.

It never came.

He looked up at her over his miniature computer and raised an eyebrow, waiting for her reply.

"Ah…" She said, slowly. "Well, I'm not that great of a liar…" She blushed again. "Akane says everything shows on my face."

He smiled. "Not to worry, Sango and I will be schooling you on how you'll act, talk, walk and, yes, even lie." He placed his PDA back into his pocket and straightened his jacket, continuing. "I can't give you anymore details at this moment, you'll have to agree to what I've told you so far, as well as the undisclosed amount my employee will soon decide on. I can guarantee, however, that the amount is well worth the job, and after you are done you will have more than enough to buy and own your own apartment."

"Wha-what?" Her eyes were wide as saucers, her mouth agape. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly." He grinned.

"I… Don't know what to say…" She paused, her eyebrows drawn together in internal conflict. "Can I have some time to think it over?"

Miroku raised his eyebrow, but nodded slowly. "You can think it over a day, but I'll need an answer after that, or the deal will be off." He stood to leave. "I have to take care of a few things for my employer, so if you decide before tomorrow, give me a call," he handed her a business card, "and I'll pick you up once you've been giving a clean bill of health and released."

She nodded, but said nothing.

Satisfied that Miroku had done all her could to reel the girl in, he left the room and walked out of the hospital and into the back seat of a black Mercedes, nodding to the driver.

"Everything good?" The driver asked.

"Yes." Miroku smiled and nodded, taking the stuffy jacket off and loosening his tie. Ugh, thank god he wasn't really Inuyasha's Lawyer. He'd hate to have to wear an outfit like that everyday. He reached down under the seat for his security uniform. "Inuyasha's fiancé should be ready to go home tomorrow."

"That's great." The driver replied, pulling out from the curb and into traffic, heading out of the city. "I was kinda surprised when you told me he asked a girl to marry him. I thought that after-"

"Yes, we all thought so." Miroku interrupted, his grin widening as he pulled the light-blue cotton top over his head. "But he just fell head-over-heels for this one, and she happily agreed to marry him." He flipped down the mirror and checked his hair. "She'll be good for him." Satisfied with his attire, he flipped the mirror back up and looked out the window, watching as the scenery changed from the busy, crowded streets to the quiet suburbs. "Very good." He added to himself.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Kagome was left alone to her own devises after Miroku left, which she was slightly relieved about.

'…_What a strange situation…_' She thought to herself, biting her cheek thoughtfully. There were good points and bad points about the whole thing.

There were many reasons why accepting such an offer was not a good idea.

First of all, it sounded too good to be true, which always seemed to be her case. This whole thing could very well be a sham, and they could be planning on just kidnapping her, or worse. This was, of course, unlikely, since it's not like they could hold her for ransom or anything. She had no money, or anything of value for that matter. But flashes of the attack swirled around in her head, and the thought that this could be another trap buried deep into her mind. Also, it was all happening a bit TOO fast. She had been half-dead in the gutter one moment, and was suddenly offered a job that paid enough for her to live in her own place?

Miroku had practically told her she'd be set for life. What could she possibly be doing for this mysterious employer that would pay such a high amount?

This brought her back to the beginning of her list, where it all just sounded too good to be true. And then there was the fact that…

Well, she couldn't think of any other bad reasons…

Okay, so now for the good.

She _was_ homeless. It's not like she could go back to the apartment where Akane was. It wasn't hers anymore. She didn't feel safe there. And with no one willing to hire an underage girl, it's not like she could feed herself without turning to crime.

If she took this job, she'd never have to prostitute herself again. Miroku had said that by the end of the year she'd have enough money to buy herself an apartment, and she'd be eighteen by then, which meant she'd be able to legally adopt her brother! And she'd be able to eat real food and sleep on a real bed with pillows and comforters, and have clothes that were tasteful and expensive….

Well, maybe. All Miroku had told her was that she'd be living there. She didn't know what she'd been doing. It could be pure, forced labor….

But something about the way he'd explained the job made her think she'd be doing something other than scrubbing toilets for this guy….

So it seemed that the good outweighed the bad… Where else could she go? What else could she do? How else could she complete her goal of giving her brother a warm, safe place to live? It was all just too tempting.

…A thought in the back of her mind told her she was making the biggest mistake of her life. It was all just too shady. It didn't bode well at all.

But what choice did she have?

Ignoring the voice, she picked up the phone on the side of her bed and dialed nine to reach an outside line, then dialed the numbers on the business card Miroku had given her.

He picked up on the first ring. "This is Miroku."

"Hi…" She spoke out tentatively, more shyly than she would have liked to. This was a job, for God's sake; she had to sound sure and positive.

"Hello?" He hadn't heard her.

She cleared her throat and spoke louder. "Hi, Miroku? It's… It's Kagome."

"Ah! Kagome-chan!" He stated, more friendly than what she thought was necessary. "You've made up your mind already? It's only been a few hours since I left you."

"Yes." She bit her lip, and prayed that she was making the right choice. "You said you'll pick me up in a few days?"

He paused for a moment, long enough for Kagome to wonder if he'd hung up on her or not. "…Hello?"

"Ah, sorry. I was thinking… Anyway, yes, I'll bring you to the estate in a few days when you're released. I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning, however, to go over a few details and tell you want needs to be done when you meet your employer. See ya tomorrow!" He hung up before she could say goodbye.

She thought that she'd be nervous and uneasy about her decision, and she was absolutely right. But she also felt strangely light-hearted. She'd have a place to sleep tonight where no one would be doing drugs or shooting guns off. She'd be in a room and eat a good dinner. And soon she'd be living in an upscale place where she was getting paid to… well, not to prostitute herself, at least.

The thought led her off to sleep, light and dreamy and weightless.

And warm.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Kikyou tried to keep her facial features calm as the clinic's front desk receptionist laid out her belongings while naming them off.

"Lipstick… Keys… Gloss… Wallet containing seven credit cards and license, as well as member cards to three different country clubs…"

Argh! She wanted to reach through the plastic wall that separated the two of them and strangle her fat, ugly, bulbous neck! She shouldn't have been taken to this dump in the first place. Sesshoumaru always had a tendency to overreact. What could she have possibly done to him anyway? He was youkai, for hells' sake, there was no way she could physically harm him.

"Cellular phone… two pieces of gum… a _condom_…"

That last bit was said in a tone that made Kikyou's toes curl with absolute fury. She bit her tongue to keep her look passive.

"Silver watch… earrings… four bracelets… one ring… and one necklace." The woman pushed the items through the small opening at the counter without a smile. "Please sign here," she pointed to the dotted line of a sheet of paper next to Kikyou's hand, "that confirms that you're not missing any belongings and that they were in the same shape as they came in."

Oh, if she'd seen this woman elsewhere… She would surely have a few choice words of her own to share. Instead she signed her name in her overly loopy signature, and placed her belongings in her purse. Managing a "thank you," she turned and walked out the doors back to freedom.

A silver Bentley was waiting for her at the curb, and Sesshoumaru stood next to the open back door, waiting for her to climb in. "Have a nice stay, did you?"

She kept her face a blank slate as she slipped into the back seat and moved over to let him slide in next to her. "I always have a lovely time, you know this."

"Mmhmm." He replied, opening his date book and marking a few things down. "While we're on our way to your parent's house, would you like to discuss what happened during our last encounter?"

"Which encounter was that, _dear_?" The word dear was pronounced in a sickeningly sweet way. "I thought our last time was lovely."

"Yes, well," Sesshoumaru removed his slim glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "you had mentioned something about a baby."

Kikyou chose not to reply as she stared out into the light sky.

"You realize the reason we sent you to the asylum, don't you?"

She tasted a metallic liquid in her mouth, and realized that she had cut her tongue, she was biting so hard.

"Kikyou, you never had a baby. You had an abortion, remember?"

She wanted to rip her nails across his emotionless face. Why did it seem to be so effortless for him? It wasn't fair that he was able to control it so easily. It was always such a battle for her.

"You tricked my brother into conceiving a child. You-"

"I did nothing of the sort!" She whipped her head around and snarled into his face, an angry, reddish flush blotching across her features. "Inuyasha knew fully well what he was doing!"

"He was found drugged. You drugged him and raped him."

"It was no rape." Her demeanor had changed at the drop of a hat, and now she stared up at him with seductively steamy eyes. She could feel the change. Feel how her nerves stood on end as she remembered the many nights of pure passion she and Inuyasha had shared. "He moaned much louder than I. He initiated it. He was absolutely willing."

"You drugged him so he'd fuck you without protection, so that you'd have his child and be forced to marry into the family. It was proven in court, Kikyou. You've been proven insane."

For a moment she wanted to kill him. She wanted to rip his eyes out and squeeze until they popped. She wanted to gorge out his neck and crush his windpipe.

The single eyebrow Sesshoumaru raised in response was enough to inform her that her vicious thoughts had been showing on her face, and she quickly snapped her features back to calm and serene. "Don't worry, Sesshoumaru. I remember the court's ruling." She turned to look back out the window.

He stayed silent for a long while, and Kikyou began to think she's blown in again, and that he would order the driver to turn back around and take her back to the insane asylum. But after several minuets, all he said was: "See that you keep it that way."

Twenty minuets later they pulled up the extensive driveway to the Himonishi estate, and Kikyou opened the door without waiting for the driver and walked the front steps briskly. But before she'd made it safely inside, Sesshoumaru peeked his head out from the door and called out to her.

"One more thing."

She didn't turn to look at him, but she froze with her hand on the doorknob.

"Supposedly, Inuyasha has purposed to a young lady. I am giving you warning so this will not come as a shock to you when you see her attending the next few soiree's." With that, he shut the car door and was off down the driveway.

Kikyou stayed where she was, her face a mask. As soon as the car was out of sight, she tore the door open and slammed it as hard as she could, making the giant chandelier shake far above her head. Her features had become twisted, and her skin was a deep shade of purple rage. She flipped open her cell phone and dialed a number she'd memorized long ago; storing it away in her mind for the day she would need it.

"Kouga Yumoji's office, Attorney at Law. How may I direct your call?"

"Get Kouga on the phone, now. Tell him Kikyou is calling in her favor."

Today would be that day.

.o0o0o0o0o.

_Kagome looked up into her mothers face, wonder in her small eyes, then looked down at the small bundle wrapped in her mother's arms. "Mama?"_

"_Yes dear?" Her mother asked quietly, motioning for Kagome to lower her voice as well._

"_He's so tiny." She whispered, staring in awe at the baby wrapped in blankets._

_Her mother smiled. "I know, dear."_

"_Why's he so small?"_

_She let out a small, tinkling laugh, making Kagome smile as well. "When you were born, you were this tiny, too."_

_Kagome's eyes widened. "Really?"_

"_Yes." They sat for a while, looking over the small infant, and her mother began to hum a soft tune._

_Kagome was full of wonder. He was her baby brother. Hers. She was going to teach him how to throw tea parties and sneak cookies from the cupboard, and if anyone tried to push him around, she'd beat them up for him. She remembered something suddenly, and snapped her head up back to her mother. "Mama?" She asked determinedly._

"_Yes, dear?"_

"_What's his name?"_

_Good question, honey. Her mother glanced up to the silhouette that stood next to the window, tall and strong and loving. "Well, Kagome, dear..." She replied, not looking away from the tall silhouette. "I think I'll name him... Souta."_

_The silhouette spoke. Kagome couldn't see a face, but she felt safe with whoever it was. "Souta?" His voice was deep and affectionate._

"_Yes. Souta." Her mother nodded._

"_Souta..." Kagome tried out the name, liking the way it sounded. "I like that..." She looked down at the bundle again and waved a finger over the infants face. Souta watched her finger move back and forth and made a gurgling noise with his tongue. "You hear that, Souta?" She asked. "I'm your new sister. I'm Kagome." She looked back up at her mother. "...Mama?"_

"_Yes, dear?"_

"_You think he'll like me?"_

_She laughed, louder this time, and the silhouette chimed in also. "Kagome," she answered, "you'll be the best big sister in the entire world. I know he'll love you. You'll take good care of him."_

"_Kagome and Souta." The silhouette said._

"_Kagome and Souta." Her mother repeated. "Kagome and Souta."_

"Mama..."

"Get up!"

Kagome opened her eyes, wonderfully warm, superbly comfortable, and to the faint smell of lavender…

"Are you awake?"

She rolled her head to the side to see a young woman standing over her, eyebrow raised, a look of impatience planted on her face.

"You need to get up, hon. I gotta change these sheets and you need a bath and a change of clothes."

Huh?

Kagome's mouth dropped open at her words. …Where the heck was she?

It took a second for her memory to catch up to her.

…Oh yeah…

A job. She'd been offered an actual job, with benefits and everything. And actual honest-to-goodness job! A slow grin spread widely across her face and she couldn't help but stretch out her back, popping her joints and feeling absolutely wonderful. She hadn't done such a simple thing in years.

The girl that had woken her up clapped her hands and pulled the satiny blankets back from Kagome's body. But she didn't mind. The room was a nice seventy-two degrees, a welcome change from her old freezing apartment.

"Come on, come on, I don't have all morning. Some of us have to actually work around here." The girl teased in a friendly sort of manor.

Kagome yawned and smiled back. "I'll be working here too, starting today."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Don't I know it. You don't remember me?" She pulled the top blankets and sheets off the bed entirely and stuffed them into a giant basket made from fabric.

"You look slightly familiar, but…"

She held out her hand. "Sango. I was with Miroku when we found you on the sidewalk. I was there when you woke up, remember?"

"Oh, yes!" Kagome smiled brightly. "That's right, I do remember. I'm Kagome. Miroku talks a lot about you."

A strange, dark look passed over her face. "I'll bet he does."

She was slightly taken aback by the girls' change in facial features, but continued on anyway. "How long have you two been together?"

Sango snorted as she shooed Kagome off the bed. "Together my butt, he's the biggest pervert in the world." She froze in the middle of yanking off the pillow coverings, then turned slowly to look at Kagome. "He didn't… _try_ anything with you, did he?"

Kagome blinked and shook her head. "No, why?"

The relief was evident on her face, and she continued on with her task. "That's good, I didn't _think_ he'd sink so low as to fondle a girl laying bedridden in the hospital." She muttered. "Just a warning, though," she yanked off the bottom sheet, "watch your backside around him. He's got wandering hands."

"Dually noted."

"Just let me finish changing the bed and I'll show you into the bathroom, okay?"

Kagome nodded and took the time to look around. She had been escorted last night into the giant estate, and barely had time to register anything before she was whisked off to her room, given a nightgown, and had flopped down on the bed, exhausted. She was asleep only second later.

Now, looking around the room, she noticed how bright and sunny it was. The floor was extremely comfortable, white, shaggy carpeting gracing the entire bedroom length, and giving her feel a nice, sinking feeling. She fiddled with the carpet with her toes as she glanced around at the walls. They were painted white, but had very Victorian decoration, with pillars and golden trim, a canopy bed hung with pale pink sheets and an old-style dresser that had a giant oval mirror.

The ceiling was by far the most magnificent of the room. Carved in intricate patterns and plated with golden paint. The designs made up a larger picture of a woman in a Victorian dress sitting down in a field, her giant skirt wrapped in layers around her legs.

"Come on now, let's get you cleaned up and ready for your meeting." Sango grabbed hold of her wrist and lead her towards an open door to the left.

The girl was dawned in a maid's outfit, one that seemed like it had been copied from a book. She wore it well, and it matched her dark, pretty eyes and long, straight hair. She seemed to be about Kagome's age, which she was thankful for. Maybe they'd become friends. Hopefully she was not a victim fallen prey to drugs.

Sango smiled as she led the way into the bathroom, which was only roughly half the size of the bedroom, but was still absolutely enormous. It was painted a pale blue color, almost while, and a giant bathtub was tucked in the far corner. It was one of those Jacuzzi tubs, and could easily fit three five hundred pound people inside comfortably.

The girl bent over and turned on the water, filling the tub with sudsy warmth. Kagome took the opportunity to look around a bit more.

Most of the bathroom was sectioned off by glass walls. Inside the floor was foamy, and squished under her feet, and there were benches set up against the walls. She guessed it was the shower, although there was no showerhead, but hundreds of tiny holes in the ceiling, from which the water must come out.

Absolutely amazing.

"Alright Kagome, get undressed, I'll wash your hair out for you." Sango called from the edge of the tub.

Kagome couldn't help but giggle at the motherly effect Sango was having on her. She lifted the nightgown over her head and pulled down her panties, stepping into the soothing, warm water. "Ahhhh." She let out. "This is the best bath I've ever had."

She laughed. "Well, many more of these to come, girl. With you're job, I'll practically be at your hand-and-foot!"

"Eh?" She asked as Sango poured water over her head and proceeded to squeeze out a hearty amount of shampoo. "What will I be doing that you'll have to be waiting on me?"

"Miroku didn't tell you?" Her voice was that of surprise.

"He didn't give me many details…" Her voice trailed off as she lost herself in Sango's massaging fingers.

She sighed. "Yeah, well, Miroku is known for being blunt unless he has something to hide. It's so stupid that he's tiptoeing around telling you about you job, though. It's not like you're going to hate it, Kagome. Believe me, most girls would kill to be in your position."

"And what position is that?"

Sango threw back her head and laughed at Kagome's attempt to get the information. "Don't think _I'll_ be the one telling you! No way, I'll leave that pleasure up to Inuyasha."

Kagome's heart jumped into her throat. "I-Inuyasha?" She asked. "As in… Senator Kobun's son?" Her voice had gone from normal to squeaky in five seconds flat. "As in the guy that's on all those ads on TV? _That_ Inuyasha?!!"

Sango groaned. "Oh, man! He didn't even tell you _that_?! What a friggin' jerk." She tilted Kagome's head back and dumped more water over her hair, then squeezed out a hearty amount of conditioner. "Don't worry, Kagome. Don't be intimidated. Inuyasha can be a jerk, but he really is a good guy… deep, deep down inside."

"Mmm." Was all Kagome could say. She felt that if she opened her mouth she'd puke all over the place.

"Really, I promise. He's a nice guy. Take you for example. When Miroku suggested you for the job, I was extremely hesitant. Inuyasha was actually downright against it until he saw you in the hospital. Then he caved like _that_." She snapped her fingers. "And then there was… well you remember when you ran into him, right?"

"Huh?"

"You know… when he and Miroku…"

Kagome had turned her head to look questioningly up at the maid, who suddenly flushed a deep scarlet. "Well, I probably wasn't supposed to mention that part. Forget about it."

"No, wait! When did we run into each other before? Inuyasha Kobun is pretty famous, I know I would have remembered seeing him on the street!"

"Now, now, Kagome. No more questions." Sango smiled nervously and stepped away from the tub. "I think you can finish washing yourself from here on out. Towels are handing on the rack, and when you're all nice and dry call me up by pushing the red button by the door, okay?" She was out of the bathroom before Kagome could protest any further.

Kagome sank back into the water and closed her eyes, her thoughts running a mile a minute. Something was extremely off. Was everyone in this place so keen on keeping weird secrets involving her?

Her curled her body into a ball underwater, her eyes breaking the surface edge, and closed her eyes, halfway expecting to wake up at any moment on the cold, hard ground in some random ally.

…But the warm water she was laying in was all too real. The smell of shampoo and the soap bubbles and the jets pressing into her back were all awesomely too real. It made all thoughts of unreality float from her mind, and she couldn't help but smile.

So what if everyone in this place was insane? She could care less as long as her goal could be completed.

Looking down at her body as the water swirled around her shoulders, white foam that spewed from the jets sticking to her skin and popping into thin air, she couldn't help but feel like everything just might work out okay.

…Except for that darn warning sign that would just not stop going off in the back of her mind.

Kagome dunked her head back underwater to wash out the remaining conditioner before she stood and wrapped a towel around her body.

She walked over to the door and pressed the red button. Then stepped into the shower and turned it on, just for the heck of it.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Taa-daa! Wow! I have to say that was the fastest I've ever whipped out a chapter! I'm so excited! THANK YOU, LOSTxx:lovelove: I want my Duo Wallpaper now, please!! XD

Anyway, what did you guys think? A little Souta angst, a little Kikyou drama, and a lot of Kagome. "What the heck?" you ask? "Where was Inuyasha?" Sorry! …I got to the end and was like: Crap! He didn't appear once in this chapter! How strange!!! Oh well, next chapter there will be lots of him, as Kagome and Inuyasha – drum roll, please – meet face-to-face without Kagome being knocked unconscious! XD Yay!

Next Chapter: Prepped Deceit: Stage 02

Are you excited?! I am! And oh! Leave me reviews so I can answer them in my chapters, and those of you who read and don't post reviews, please do! They keep me motivated! (other than my beta kicking my rump every now and again, that is)

SugarRos


	5. Prepped Deceit: Stage 02

Hello one and all!

Sorry this one wasn't out as fast as the last. Honestly, I've been working on another fanfiction entirely…

This chapter is dedicated to Melantao, who left me a nice, long, juicy review! Also, she mentioned something that gave me a great idea to add in at the end! I won't say what it is, Melantao, you'll just have to wait until the last chapter to find out, but you did good! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

And now to answer some of your reviews! .

MyInuYashaObsession: Yay for keeping me motivated! Thanks for the help! XD

Frozen Miko: Yeah, there's a LOT of Inuyasha fanfiction out there, most tend to get lost within all the others. O.O I'm glad you were able to catch it this time around, though! And I'm glad you enjoy it! I cracked myself up a bit writing the 'witty' banter between Inuyasha and Miroku, lol. It's fun!

Ro0tin4Kagome: You'll find out soon enough about Kikyou and Kouga. A few surprising turns ahead. XD As for Rin, I can't promise things will be better anytime soon, but I like Rin's character, and I'm not a completely sadistic bastard. .; I think you'll be pleased in the end.

Keiko89: You're not sick, love! Kikyou is an awesome character to be evil. I don't hate Kikyou in the cannon series, I have great respect for her, and I absolutely adore using her character to create someone we 'love to hate.' A respectable villain that we can all cheer for to lose! XD

Inuyashaz-ghetto-girl: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the story! It is sad about Souta and Rin, but I need their pain to add to the drama-y goodness of the plot. .; And I sure as heck did get that wallpaper!

lady KCassandra: Can't say I'm sad about you feeling so bad about Souta and Rin, it means I'm doing my job! XD Yay! I know that you're feeling anxious to get them the hell outta there, and I'm sure you'll be happy in the end. As for letters, Kagome was, ecensually, cut off from the orphanage all together. Remember, she was, and still is, underage, and if the orphanage discovered where she was, they could take her back. Kagome knows that the kids are abused emotionally, she'd unaware, however, of the physical/sexual abuse going on. Otherwise, she'd be bangin' down the doors, guns-a-blazin'. But no worries! Inuyasha tends to get REALLY pissed when it comes to child abuse…

RoseInuYasha: Aw, I'm sorry that you don't like the newest version as much as the older version. I'm sorry, but the old version was full of plot holes, OOCness, and was being written into a giant block. O.O Can't have that now, can we? Plus, my writing's improved way beyond what it was before, and I just don't like the old version. I hope you stick with and finish reading this version though. I think you'll end up happy after it's all said and done with!

Blackpantherdmcf: I'm glad the chapter was emotional for you! Thank you!

Tifa Sohma: HOLY COW!!! I'm so glad you liked it! Lol!

LotusTears: Keep your hopes up! XD

EM: Yay! It was a homecoming gift! Lol. I'm glad it made a nice return home for you! Yay!

demonic-goddess: Welcome to the awesome world of fanfiction! I'm glad you enjoyed my story!

CluelessMajor: I'm glad you enjoy the story! I'm planning for around fifteen chapters, give or take a few. I've already been thrown off chapter-wise, I've had to push back scenes and stuff, so I can't say for sure how many, but I'm thinking fifteen.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Chapter 5: Prepped Deceit: Stage Two

.o0o0o0o0o.

"Yes. Yes, I understand."

Kouga tapped his pen restlessly on the top of his desk.

"I get it, alright? No need to threaten my job."

He caught the pen in his hand, squeezing as hard as he could.

"I know full well who my boss is, thank you very much. I understand, I'll have someone on it right away."

The pen snapped in two, and blue ink splattered across his very expensive pantsuit. He bit back a curse and dropped the pen on his desk.

"Do you know her name, at least? …No? …Okay, I'll have Kitari track her down. …Yes. …Yes, he's good at these sorts of things. …Bye, Kiky-…"

"…Fucking bitch." Kouga bit out into the speaker as he placed down the buzzing phone receiver with a shaking hand, extremely agitated that she'd hung up so abruptly, but too scared out of his ever-loving mind to actually call her back and berate her for it. This, of course, only added to the frustration of ruining his best leg-wear. "Dammit! My pants!" He wiped at the ink, only succeeding in spreading it around. "Fuck!"

He _knew_ it had been a bad idea to acquire Kikyou's… _services_... for a job he had needed done a few years ago, but at the time he honestly didn't think she'd have any need for him at any time later on.

Shit, had he ever been wrong about that.

Kouga stood abruptly and slipped his pants down his legs, stepping out of them and walking to the closet at the side of his office, pulling out a fresh pair. He bit his lip. Kikyou was _not_ a pleasant woman. She was not nice. She was not polite or feminine. Oh, he'd _thought_ she was when he had first met her, with her hand slinked around his best client's arm, her wonderful-smelling perfume teasing his senses, her voice low and seductive and full of pleasures promised. Yes, back then she'd been extremely feminine.

Then, after she'd fucked his brains out, she'd gone from his dream-come-true to his worst nightmare. Argh! How stupid could he have been to bed that girl? He had walked right into her little trap and she'd snapped him up and held him hostage as soon as he had let his pants… er… _defenses_ down. What a stupid, stupid guy thing to do, getting all worked up over some hot-to-trot female. _Human_, nonetheless.

He sat back in his chair as memories of Kikyou in bed came flooding into his senses, all wrapped up in deceits and lies…

_Kouga sighed in frustration as three timid knocks were heard from the other side of his office door. Who the hell would be bothering him right now? The very _life_ of a man was hanging from his fingers. If this case went down the road of conviction, an innocent man would go to jail. ...Well, not-so-innocent, probably, but that was beside the point. He didn't get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to be honest, that was for sure. Anyway, he had to _concentrate_, dammit! If it was Emi again with her idiot questions about how he liked his coffee he was going to fire her. He was going to just fire her._

_The knocks came again. "What!" He snapped out, resisting the urge to tear apart the legal paperwork that cluttered his desk. He was not in the mood for interruptions. He knew damned well that his client was guilty as shit, and he had to prove otherwise, which was not an easy task. He could not be interrupted!_

_The door opened just enough for the intruder to poke her head through. "What do you want now, Emi?" Kouga growled out, not bothering to look up._

"_Well, I don't know what _Emi_ wants, but I hope she stays away. You seem irritated."_

_His head shot up and his gaze fell on none other than the woman he'd been fantasizing about since he had first met her two-and-a-half weeks ago. "…Lady Kikyou…" He placed the pen he was holding down onto his desk and stood up, motioning for her to come in. "What's the occasion?" He couldn't help but grin, realizing that he couldn't smell his client, whom usually accompanied her, anywhere nearby. "Where's Mr. Kobun?"_

_Kikyou pushed the door open enough to slip in all the way and shut it behind her, shrugging a little as she did so. "Inuyasha was being a bore, so I decided to come down here and maybe have you help draw up some legal papers for me? No need for Inuyasha to know, of course."_

_Kouga nervously played with his tie, loosening it slightly as he could feel himself start to perspire. "Ah, well, that depends on what type of legal papers you're looking to acquire, Kikyou." He cleared his throat and motioned for her to sit in front of his desk. His vision drifted down to her cleavage, which had been placed perfectly into her black push-up bra that he could see through her tight, light-colored shirt._

_Oh gods, her perfume had reached his sensitive nose, and suddenly his pants had become tight against his need. He could feel the room rising in temperature, the widows behind him had to be fogging up, he was sure._

_Now, Kouga was not stupid. He _knew_ when a woman was intentionally trying to seduce him. He knew that Kikyou hadn't come to his office after-hours without her fiancé just to draw up some papers she wanted kept a secret. Not dressed like that, she wasn't._

"_Well, I have a problem." Her voice was smooth and low, and moved through the air like velvet as she slowly sunk into the chair opposite him. "I'd like some sort of account set apart from my soon-to-be-husbands. Something he won't be able to," she leaned forward slightly, giving Kouga a much better view of her assets "_grab onto_, if you know what I mean."_

_Argh, that voice was going to drive him to the brink of insanity. He watched, breath hitched, eyes wide, heart pounding its' way from his chest as she slowly moved from her chair to his desk, climbing onto it as she pushed away the papers that suddenly didn't really matter to Kouga at the moment, and leaned in, licking her lips in an oh-so-sexy way._

_It was like liquid heat, her lips. The slick, soft texture…_

Kouga viciously shook the memory from his head, gritting his teeth against the flood of pure hatred towards the woman. He'd realized too late that she was absolutely out of her ever-loving-mind. Not to mention that getting him to fuck her was part of a larger plan to ensnare him even further. And now she'd come waltzing back years later, blackmailing him again.

The bitch.

'_Don't punch anything, don't punch anything, don't punch anything…'_ He chanted in his head, willing self-control to steady himself. Now was not the time to lose it. He had to keep a cool head, or he'd end up losing his job. …Or his life.

Being a full-fledged Wolf Youkai, Kouga wasn't afraid of much. Being a lawyer to one of the most influential Youkai families of modern times gave him large amounts of power, there were many people who answered to him, and many who had gone and disappeared on his order. But damned if he wasn't afraid of the Kobun family. And if he didn't do what Kikyou now asked, she would make sure that he died by their hands. He couldn't go off and kill the bitch either, which was an option he would have usually considered. Kikyou was under the protection of Sesshoumaru Kobun, and he wasn't touching anything that Sesshoumaru was protecting.

With a sigh of defeat and resignation, he pressed the intercom on his phone. "Emi, get Kitari on the line."

"Yessir!" She cheerfully chirped through the speaker, which annoyed him even more. "But I believe he's in a business meeting at the moment, sir."

"I don't care what he's doing, I want him on the phone in three minuets or you're fired!" He snapped, releasing the button and smirking to himself.

Five minuets later, Emi spoke through the intercom. "Mr. Kitari on the phone for you, sir." She said in a merry sort of tone.

"I said three minuets, Emi!" He barked back at her. "You're fired!"

She giggled through the speaker. "Oh sir, you always say that!"

It was true, Kouga tended to threaten her that way a lot. He'd never go through with it, though, she did her job well, and good receptionists were hard to find nowadays. Besides, she was pleasant to look at, a pretty face and a nice body. And Kouga _was_ a healthy young male.

He picked up the phone and hit the line that was blinking red. "Kitari." He spoke in a controlled tone.

The voice that replied sounded childish and extremely upbeat. "Kouga! What's up? Sorry I couldn't get to the phone sooner, I was with a client."

Ugh. Why was everyone acting as if a ray of sunshine had been shoved up their ass? Was he the only one in the world who was currently being blackmailed by a psychotic bitch? "Don't worry about it, I have your attention now, I presume?"

"Fully."

"Good." Kouga leaned back in his lay-Z-boy chair and placed his hands behind his head. "I have a job for you."

"About time!" Kitari gave off a childish laugh, grating Kouga's nerves even more. "I thought you'd forgotten about me!"

"Believe it or not I don't sic hit men on people all the time, Boy." He growled.

Kitari laughed again, his young age showing through his voice. "And probably not underage ones as well, huh?" He giggled.

"Just fucking do your job." Kouga spat into the receiver, willing himself not to crush it in his hands. "Take down the information."

.o0o0o0o0o.

"Miroku." Sango's tone was one of warning. "Stop it."

"Hmm?" Miroku asked in return, his gaze shifting from the small security screen he was studying up to her pretty face. "Stop what?"

She huffed in annoyance and pointed down to the place near her thigh where Miroku's hand was casually inching up towards the end of her skirt. She grit her teeth together and clenched her fist. "Move that hand even _one_ inch closer, and so help me Gods, I will _kill_ you."

He turned his mouth over into what he probably thought was a disappointed frown, but what Sango knew to be a playful, albeit charming, pout. "Why are you so touchy today, love?"

"It's not 'Love,' it's Sango, thank you, and I'm not just touchy about your wandering hands today, _Houshi_, I happen to be touchy about them _everyday_."

Miroku couldn't help but agree to himself as he lounged casually behind the front security counter in his black, leather chair, glancing occasionally at the monitor screens sprawled out across the wall, but mainly focusing on the cute, little outfit that dawned Sango's supple… _form_. It was true, what she said. It seemed like he could never get a break with her. It was always a struggle for him to be able to touch her.

Gods, did he ever love the chase.

"What are you doing?"

"Eh?" He was yanked from his thoughts by a weary-looking Sango, whose raised eyebrow surveyed his face questioningly.

"You had a stupid, dopy grin on your face, and you weren't staring at my ass like you _normally_ do when you look that way." She was standing only a few inches away from him, leaning over the counter, the guest list Senator Kobun had dropped off on his way out with his wife resting in her hands. "What were you thinking?" She turned back to the list.

Miroku shrugged and lifted his arms behind his head, resting back comfortably. "Nothing of any importance, I suppose." He sighed and glanced at the screen that showed the section of the hallway that held the doorway into their newest resident's room. "Did our new employee sleep well last night?"

Sango snorted and slapped the paper that contained the list down onto the counter, snapping her fingers in the process. "Ah-HA! _That's_ what I was going to berate you about, you _jerk_!" She exclaimed, turning so she faced him, her hands now at her hips, glowering down. "You didn't tell that poor girl a damn _thing_ about what is going on here! She didn't know who she's working for! And she didn't remember meeting him before!" She sighed and placed her fingers against the ridge of her nose. "What the hell were you thinking, keeping all this from her?"

"Now, now, Sango, don't blame all this on me, okay? Hear me out."

"Explain."

Miroku sighed heavily, sitting up in his chair. "Listen, Inuyasha doesn't want her to know, okay? It really wasn't that big of a deal, was it? Besides, I don't think Inuyasha wants her to feel like she owes him anything. She's not here because she has a debt to pay; she's here because it's a _job_. You see?"

Sango had crossed her arms across her chest as she listened to his story, a frown placed upon her pretty features. "Yeah, but what were you going to do? Wait until she met Inuyasha to let her know who she was working for? The poor thing would've had a heart-attack."

"It would have been rather entertaining." He smiled.

"You're a jerk." She muttered back to him as the small beeper hooked to her waist vibrated against the lacy fabric of her outfit. "And _I_ certainly won't be the one to tell her all this." She added as she glanced down at the small screen. Kagome must have been done with her bath. "Once she's dressed I'm dragging her down here and _you'll_ tell her what she needs to know about Inuyasha." She stated, walking from the security desk and reaching the double cascading curved stairs.

Miroku watched her disappear from his sight before he slapped his hand to his forehead. Dammit! Kagome thought Miroku was Inuyasha's lawyer! She'd probably re-think the job offer if she felt he was untrustworthy! Ugh, the only thing for him to do was hide out until she fully accepted the job.

Sighing he stood and slinked towards the hallway that led to the kitchens. The chef's assistant was a pretty young thing. She wouldn't mind him hanging out there for the next few hours…

.o0o0o0o0o.

'_Don't throw up, don't throw up… Common, girl, you won't throw up, will you? Of course not!' _ Kagome thought to herself as she struggled with the clasp on the back of the corset Sango was currently forcing her into. She was nervous as hell, and the fact that she couldn't fit herself into any of the clothes Sango was throwing her way wasn't helping the matter.

She sucked in her stomach as much as she could and strained the material, pulling back with all her might, only to let out a loud whoosh of breath and give up, stomping her foot in frustration. "Ugh! I can't get this clasp hooked!" She sighed, turning her head to glace over her shoulder at Sango, who was scrimmaging around the giant walk-in-closet for shoes.

Sango laughed as she pulled herself from the closet, nodding slightly, and walked over to take the fabric into her own hands. She shook her head as Kagome sucked in another giant breath. "No, don't breathe in, hon, breathe out. When you breathe out, the air flows _out_ of your lungs, making your chest shrink." She nodded as Kagome did as she said. "See?" She quickly clasped the fabric together. "There, now to lace it up."

"Ugh." Kagome uttered as the first of the strings tightened the fabric around her upper hips. "I hope I don't have to wear this everyday. I don't think I could take this anymore than an hour."

"Yeah, well, you won't have to take these clothes anymore after today." The young maid circled Kagome as if she was on auction. "Unfortunately the only presentable female clothes we have for you right now are Kikyou's, and she… dieted a lot." She paused in front of her and rested her chin into her hand, looking Kagome up and down.

"I can tell. What size are these?"

Sango raised her eyebrow. "Size two."

"No wonder the corset is needed."

She shook her head, her eyes rolling. "No kidding. Don't worry; you and I will do some shopping on the boss's platinum card to get you a new wardrobe for the time you spend here. Stuff that _fits_." She added on with a significant look. "No one should have to squeeze into a size two." She patted the back of the corset, now set firmly in place.

"I'm glad you feel the same as I do." Kagome huffed, although not from annoyance, but from trying to get a breath in. "I was worried for a second that I'd be asked to diet."

The girl laughed. "No, no. Since you've recovered from the hospital, you seem to have gained some good, healthy weight back." She tilted her head as she held up the black dress pants for Kagome to step into. "You're still a little pale, but you look much better than when we found you."

Kagome bit her lip and nodded as she pulled the pants up over her hips, sighing as the zipper was only a _little_ difficult to pull up. "You know… I never got to… er… thank you."

Sango stopped mulling over shoes again and turned to give her a questioning look. "What for?"

She gulped, a little embarrassed by the whole situation. "For finding me and taking me to the hospital." She admitted as she pulled the white blouse over her head. It was a little snug in the waist area, and kind of loose in the bust. Who the heck had been the previous owner of these clothes? Barbie? She sighed. "If it weren't for you and Miroku, I might have… well, thank you."

She watched as Sango shook her head and walked over with a pair of black flats. "I'm not the one to thank. Inuyasha made the decision to hire you, not me." She placed the shoes in front of the mirror and motioned for Kagome to stand by her.

Kagome grabbed the suit jacket and slipped her arms through as she stepped in front of the full-length mirror, freezing for a mere second as her eyes swept over her clean, well-dressed figure.

The clothes were tight and cutting off her air supply, but did she ever look _good_. She couldn't help the giddy grin that spread across her face. "Oh _wow_." Was all she could say.

Sango chuckled from over her shoulder. "Yeah, it's a wonder what a bath and new clothes can do for a girl, huh?" She winked into the mirror then stood back to admire her handy work.

Kagome stared at her reflection, awed. It had been years since she had worn anything so… extravagant. So beautiful. In fact, the last piece of really nice clothing she'd ever worn was a Sunday school dress her mother had gotten her when she was five. It had been white with light pink frills and reminded her of frosting, which is why she'd liked it so much. Kagome's vision suddenly became blurry, and she didn't realize she was crying until Sango asked what was wrong.

"Oh!" She wiped away at the silent tears. "Oh, nothing, I just… I don't…" She stuttered. "I don't know if I…"

"Spit it out, girl."

"I mean…" Her eyes wouldn't leave her reflection. "What if I get these… dirty?" She could hear her voice cracking as she choked with emotion, trying her hardest not to cry. It'd been so long since she'd warn anything but sweats and… well, Akane's hooker gear. "…These clothes are so pretty."

"Yes, they are."

Finally tearing her gaze away from the mirror, she blinked back her tears and cleared her throat. It wouldn't do to have her employers think she was a crybaby. "I don't think I should wear these…"

Sango tilted her head to the side. "Really? I think you look really good in them." She placed her hand on Kagome's shoulder and turned her around away from the mirror, backing up a few feet to get a good look.

Kagome lifted her head at Sango's sharp gasp. "What?"

"Wow. Actually, in those clothes…" She shook her head. "You look just like her."

"Just like who?"

She seemed to be arguing with herself whether or not she wanted to tell Kagome who she resembled, but shook her head in the end. "Eh, it doesn't matter. You're nothing like her personality-wise, which, believe me, is a really _good_ thing." Then she gave Kagome a rather evil grin. One that sent chills up her spine. "Oh, I'm going to get a kick out of this."

Kagome eyed the girl nervously, wiping at her eyes. Something was going on that she didn't know about. She couldn't help but feel she was already in way over her head.

.o0o0o0o0o.

The Kobun head gardener sat beside a long hedge of rosebushes, one of the many living walls that made up the Kobun Gardens. The four-acre area was green and alive and peaceful…

Well, peaceful except for the loud shouting coming from the other side of the hedge. Senator Kobun's son was obviously not in a good mood.

"What the hell are you talking about?! That commercial was promised to me, dammit! I had a lot riding on that thing!!"

…..

"No. No, that wasn't the deal!"

…..

"Argh! Fine! You know what? Fucking forget it. I'll do the part in the movie, instead!"

….,

"Yeah, I know what I'll have to do in it, but what choice to I have? Father's on my case again, I gotta-"

…..

"Yeah, yeah. Alright then." Inuyasha grit his teeth. "Bye." He snapped his phone shut and then stood and turned to face away from the house, cocking his arm back and throwing the cellular piece of crap as far as he could. He watched as the silver object as it flew across the clear, blue sky and landed with a faded 'ka-plunk' in the lake located across the giant yard. "Jackass." He muttered, sitting down in a huff. Fuck. Today was not his day. How could the commercial have dropped him? He'd thought he was all good to go.

…What had his agent said? They decided to go with someone _younger_? What the hell was _that_ supposed to mean? He was young! How much younger could you go to be in an Axe commercial?

Argh! Stupid entertainment business! If it didn't get him out of the house and away from his father, he would never be doing this crap to begin with.

"Ah-hem."

Inuyasha's head snapped up to see Sango standing at the entrance to the main garden area, her arms crossed over her chest and her head tilted to the side in an amused sort of way. "Shall I call DoCoMo for a new cell, then?" She asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Keh. They don't make those things strong enough." He replied, slightly embarrassed at being caught having a tantrum.

"Waterproof enough, you mean." She corrected, standing on her tiptoes and placing her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun, peering out across the large span of grass to the lake where you could just barely catch the glint of silver floating on the miniature laps of water.

He crossed his arms, not unlike she had earlier, and cleared his throat. "Was there something you wanted? Other than to make my day worse than it's already going, that is."

She smiled. "Of course. I just wanted to lead Lady Kagome here." Her voice was sing-song and fake, and he knew she hated calling the girl that. Sango was not one for formalities. Miroku had probably put her up to talk like that.

He was about to tell her not to call the girl that, for she was merely a lowly street-walker, but he was beaten to it by a voice that was out of sight.

"Sango, please, _please_ don't use the word 'lady.' It makes me uncomfortable!"

Sango rolled her eyes and grabbed at the voice behind the row of bushes. "Stop being shy and get out here. What, are you going to have your meeting peering at each other through the branches?"

Inuyasha's blood ran cold when he saw who popped out from behind the bush, in that dark-blue suit he knew so well. Oh, he knew alright. He let out a growl. "Sango, what the _fuck_ is she doing here?!"

She looked slightly taken aback. "What?!"

"_Kikyou!_"

He saw Kikyou's hands start to shake, her eyes widened to saucers, and she backed up a step.

In a flash he was on her, grabbing onto her wrists and forcing them above her head. Her scream pierced the air, and made him flatten his hears against his skull, but he ignored her the best he could. "Where the fuck is Miroku?! He's supposed to be watching for people like _her_!"

"Let _go_ of me!"

"Inuyasha, what the hell are you doing?!" Sango cried out. "For Gods' sake, take a freaking whiff already!"

Eh? Inuyasha glared a Sango, but tentatively sniffed against Kikyou's arm.

…no, wait.

"What the fuck?" He muttered, pulling his head back and staring down at her wide-eyed face. At eyes that were a cool grey instead of a deep, dark, black. "Not… Kikyou…?"

"You wanna let go of the poor thing before you give her a heart attack, you jackass?"

"Hey, watch your mouth, I'll have you fired!" It wasn't his fault! The girl… She had looked _exactly_ like her. …_exactly_.

Sango rolled her eyes as she placed a comforting arm around the girl. "Sure you will. Come on, Kagome, don't mind him, he's not going to kill you, I promise."

The girl stood pale and shaking from their encounter, but nodded and let Sango lead her to the small, fancy outdoor iron table, complete with two matching iron chairs, all painted white. A large umbrella gave the area plenty of shade, and she sat, relieved, into a chair, willing her racing heart to calm itself. "Thank you, Sango."

"No problem. He'll behave, don't worry. I'll see you after lunch for some shopping, okay?" With Kagome's nod, Sango turned and headed back past Inuyasha.

As she passed by him, he leaned over and muttered into her ear. "Did you _have_ to dress her in Kikyou's clothes?"

"Why?" She whispered back. "Doesn't she look good in them?" When she received a glare as a reply, she sighed. "I'll be getting her a new wardrobe after lunch, okay? So just be nice, at least until she signs a contract and is stuck."

"Whatever." He watched her go before he turned back to the girl that looked so much like Kikyou it had scared the crap out of him. It was an unusually uncanny resemblance, and Inuyasha was usually very keen when it came to smells and telling people apart by them. It was true that they smelled nothing alike, but this girl's appearance was enough to get his senses completely turned around. He reluctantly took his seat at the table and nodded towards the food that was laid out before them, trying his best to remember his manors. "You hungry?"

Slowly, unsure, she nodded.

"Eat, then."

Nodding again, she waited until Inuyasha started eating his food before she picked up her fork and placed a small, dainty bite to her lips.

He sighed, figuring she was going to be another careful, boring female. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe this girl wasn't fit for the job. He was already bored with her, and he'd only sat with her for seven seconds.

He raised his eyebrow when she started to chew her food and let out an _extremely_ satisfied sigh, her eyes closing and her hand coming up to cover her lips. "Mmmm!" She exclaimed. "Oh, wow. This is so good!" And with that, she piled a big scoop onto her fork and placed the whole thing into her mouth, letting out another sigh of content.

"That good?" Inuyasha asked, half annoyed, and only slightly amused. It was only stir fry rice with spicy chicken.

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again, realizing it was too full of food to speak. Swallowing what looked to be a slightly painful gulp, she nodded. "I've been living off of plain ramen for a while now. Well, that and second-hand fast food when I can get it." She admitted. "You know, some people hand their leftovers over when they pass by." Another giant forkful piled into her mouth.

Inuyasha shook his head and leaned back in his chair, his own food forgotten. He was hypnotized by the way she ate, as if it was going to be her last meal ever. She wasn't messy, exactly, although there was a bit of rice stuck to her nose. No, not messy, but just fast. Fast and efficient. It was kind of sad, really, that people lived without food long enough to have to eat like… _that_. Lost in his thoughts, he left her alone until they finished their lunch. Besides, speaking to her now was out of the question. He didn't want her to choke and die before the plan had even started.

Twenty minuets later, the places in front of them cleared away, Inuyasha folded his hands and studied Kagome's face. "So…" He finally stated. "I understand Miroku explained everything to you?"

She fidgeted nervously. "Uh… well, kind of."

"Kind of?"

"He said it had to do with acting." She replied.

Inuyasha arched his eyebrow. "….acting."

"But not porn!" She stated hurriedly. "He said no porn."

He couldn't help the flush that crept over his cheeks. "I can assure you that it's Miroku who's the pervert, not me." He sighed. "He's been teaching you the right way to walk and talk, right?"

She nodded.

"_Breathe, would you? You're honestly not doing that bad of a job."_

"_Miroku, I just can't do it. I'll be found out, they'll figure it out!"_

"_No, no, you're doing fine. Look! You've already gotten that far!" Miroku pointed halfway across the room, indicating her accomplishment._

"_It's going to fall!"_

"_Keep your head up!"_

"_Miroku, it's-"_

_Miroku let out light sigh from where he leaned against the window sill and rolled his eyes as the heavy book stumbled from Kagome's head, landing with a rather large THUMP onto the floor by her feet. He watched as she let out a string of almost-curses and swooped down to pick it back up._

"_Darn this stupid thing to heck!" She shouted out, turning abruptly on her heel and lifting it high into the air, as if she were about to slam it right back down again. "I can't get it! They'll see right through me!"_

_Miroku shook his head. "Kagome-sama, it takes a bit of practice. Your boss's parents won't be home for quite some time, so we'll have a few weeks of practice even after you move in." He stood from the sill and grabbed his PDA that was on the hospital bedside counter. "You'll get it down, you'll see."_

_Kagome sighed in frustration, lowering her hand along with the book. "Just Kagome."_

"_I'm sorry?"_

"_Just call me Kagome."_

_He shook his head and gave her one of his rather charming smiles as he leaned back against the sill again. "I can't do that, Kagome-sama, you need to learn to be addressed as such. Remember that you come from an old, royal bloodline now, okay? To pull this off, you need to be of extremely high importance. Being called 'sama' by the other staff and I is something that will happen, no matter if you like it or not."_

_She let out a grunt of disagreement. "This is a waste of time, why do I have to learn how to walk with a book on my head, anyway?"_

_Miroku smiled. "Since you've grown up with a high-classed family, you need to be stiff and proper. You'll understand when you met the other girls that flock around the boss."_

"_But I can't _be_ stiff and proper."_

"_For the amount of money the boss will be paying you, you _can_ be stiff and proper." He argued with a raised eyebrow._

_Kagome sighed, but nodded, slowly straightening up before placing the thick book back atop her head. "Fine, if I have to. I'll just repeat that this is a waste."_

"_Alright now, let's see you make it to the door this time."_

_Kagome let out a groan._

Inuyasha chewed at the inside of his lip. "Well, at least you've had some practice." He leaned back in his chair. "The bastard. What a chicken shit."

"Um.." She interrupted. "…do you always curse so much?"

"Yes." Was his even reply.

"Oh." Was hers.

He studied her a bit, watching as she fidgeted nervously in her seat. She wasn't very good at making eye contact, but he hoped that, too, was something she'd grow out of once she became more comfortable with her surroundings. This _was_ his life they were messing with here. His _future_. They couldn't afford mistakes. They couldn't afford to mess up. He sat up in his chair again. "Well, this is the deal. You know who I am, right?"

She nodded. "Inuyasha Kobun. I've read about you in the papers."

"It's all good things, I'm sure." He rolled his eyes as a sign of sarcasm, but then smiled toothily at her questioning look. "So that means you know who my father is."

Again, a nod. "Senator Kobun. I really like him as a Senator; I think he's done such a great job with the economy, as well as him bringing peace between Youkai and humans…" She shook her head. "I would have voted for him, if I'd been old enough to when he was running for office last."

"That's nice." Inuyasha nodded, bored. "But back to the point. I've come into a sort of… tangle. My father is about to force me into a marriage I don't want to be in. I've only a certain amount of time to find a girl, get her to fall in love with me, and marry her before my life as I know it will come to a very disappointing end. Understand?"

The girl's jaw had dropped lower with each sentence, and by the end of his short explanation she could have caught flies. "Uh... So you'd like me to help you find a girl?"

Okay, so she was a bit slow at connecting the dots. But that could have easily been a good thing for Inuyasha. He wasn't so sure he wanted all of his dots connected by her anyway, at least not until a contract was signed and she had no way out except to carry out the job she signed for.

As it was, he had to bite back a harsh remark about her being dim. He managed to shake his head. "Not quite." He placed his elbows on the table and cradled his chin on his folded hands, looking her directly in the eyes. "I need you to pretend to be my fiancé. You will have to act like a socialite-debutante. You will have to dress the part, speak the part, essentially _live_ the part of a girl from a very prominent family, and you will need to fool my father and mother into believing that you are absolutely, positively head-over-heels in love with me."

Her mouth-gaping look before was nothing compared to the shock that spread across her face this time around. Her unusually pale skin had gone much, much paler, and her eyes looked as if they'd pop right out of her head. But she hadn't spoken to decline his offer so far, so he continued.

"This will happen over a span of six months. Some of my staff will be working on a background story for you, one that my father will not be able to see though, and you will be taught by Miroku and Sango on how to talk, walk, act and dress the part. You will not have to be with me all of the time, just attend some parties and quite a few diners with my parents, as well as be involved with the wedding plans." He watched her face, searching for a negative reaction of any kind. None came. Her face stayed pale and blank. He cleared his throat. "Okay, now it's time to discuss payment."

She looked up into his eyes at that sentence. There was the eye contact he was so worried about, strong and acute. This girl seemed to have many more layers than he'd first thought. And he couldn't help but notice that the deep grey he'd first thought her eyes to be had a tad bit of blue mixed with some green as well. So grey wasn't the word for her eyes. What color could they possibly be?

"Payment?"

He nodded, shaking himself from his thoughts. Who gave a damn _what_ color her eyes were? She wasn't here to show off those eyes. "Yes, payment for your time. Since you'll be staying here, at the house, you'll essentially be a full-time employee, on call and whatnot. I'll pay you _very_ well for your services. Much more than you'll ever have made doing… _whatever_ it is you did on the streets."

A tint of red flushed across her cheeks.

Inuyasha sighed as leaned back in his chair, his arms cradling the back of his head, his left ankle casually resting on his right knee. "So what is a starting price you'd like to throw at me for all of this?"

The girl was visibly taken aback by the question, and her mouth opened and closed a few times before she shook her head in slight confusion. "Um.. I'm not sure. I don't know.. Maybe.. 12,000 yen a week?"

It was Inuyasha's turn to look shocked. This made Kagome blush and stutter. "Oh, well, maybe that's a bit high? I'm sorry; I don't know the price range for this sort of thing. Maybe-"

"Woman, 12,000 a week isn't even enough for decent rent money. How the hell are you supposed to live after this gig? I need to pay you at least enough for you to eat, I'm not completely heartless!" He growled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know, I just-"

Inuyasha raised his hand up to interrupt her again. "No, no, I'll figure out a good price." He bit his lower lip in concentration. It's true that he was asking a lot of her. More likely than not she'd have to meet the evil fiancé herself, Kikyou, which was worth hell of a lot more than 12,000. "Let's see, it would have to be enough to get you a decent place after you've left… How does… 310,000 a week sound?"

Kagome sputtered. "Thr-… _Three hundred and ten THOUSAND?!!!_" The shocked look was back again. "That's… That's way, _way_ too much!"

He shrugged. "Not really, when you think about it. You'll be helping me out a great deal, and.." He paused and sighed. He was going to sound more thoughtful than he really was here, but he needed to voice his opinion in this matter. "I don't necessarily like the thought of a seventeen year-old girl out on the streets doing Gods-knows-what. This way I know you'll have enough money to have a nice place to stay after you're gone."

The girl bit her lip and looked away, but didn't answer.

"So does that sound acceptable?"

"S-sir, that's over a million yen a month."

"Yeah."

"That's well over seven million by the time the job will be over."

"Will that be enough to live on?"

She nodded, still pale, still shocked.

Satisfied, Inuyasha stood and stretched out, happy to finally be able to get this awkward introduction out of the way. "Alright then, I'll have my lawyer draw up the papers, and we'll get them signed. Meanwhile, I'll have Sango take you out shopping for a wardrobe that's not… _second hand_."

He walked past her and towards the path, but her small, soft voice stopped him.

"If I could… just make one small request…"

Jesus, now what? Turning on his heel, he faced the girl, who was twisted around in her chair, looking up at him from her seat. He crossed his arms and cocked his head. "What is it?"

"Well… I have a younger brother…"

.o0o0o0o0o.

Souta had stayed there, just outside the doorway, listening to every scream, every cry, and every whimper Rin uttered from within the hellish room he had come to know so well. He had stayed there, just on the other side of the door, as the man finished what he came to do and left the room, passing Souta without a glance as he walked out the door.

At first, Souta couldn't move, afraid of the scene he knew he would see if he pushed the cracked door open just a bit more and peeked inside. His heart pounded through his chest. It was too quiet. Rin wasn't making a sound.

Tentatively, he stood and pushed at the door a bit.

The Headmistress was leaning over something in front of her desk, and she spun around to glare at him when the door creaked. But her mouth turned to a wide, evil grin when she saw who it was. "You." She breathed, her lips stretched out. "Take her upstairs and put her in the bath. She's _bleeding_." She moved to sit behind her desk, revealing a small, shaking girl, covered with a thin, brown blanket lying over the workspace, her knees bent and feet dangling over the edge. Tiny rivers of blood flowed down the insides of her legs and dripped from her small toes, pooling under the desk.

Souta vibrated with rage where he stood, his fists clenched.

…It had happened.

…It had happened to Rin.

The Headmistress looked up from her papers and sneered. "Well? Are you going to take her and clean her up or what?" She snapped.

Burning with pure hate, he immediately ran to the desk, where he scooped Rin into his arms and was out the door as fast as he could, clutching the quivering girl protectively to his chest. He headed up the stairs and into the bathroom, closing the door and placing the unconscious Rin on the cold, tile floor.

For a few minutes all he could do was stare down at her face. The left side of her bottom lip was swollen and bleeding slightly, and on her cheek under her left eye swelled a bluish bruise. Slowly, he raised his hand and placed it on her forehead, pushing back her matted bangs and studying her features.

Rin was such a pretty little thing. So fragile and innocent. So small and young. So naïve and vulnerable. And for something like… like _that_ to have happened… For someone so pure to have been dirtied and hurt in such a way was pure _evil_. Having it happen to Souta was one thing, but Rin…

Not Rin.

Souta finally managed to reach out and turn the bath water on to luke-warm, watching as the slightly-tinted water rushed over his bony fingers and filled the tub inch by inch. Memories of the first time he'd been led into the headmistresses' office blazed through his memory, scorching his mind like fire, burning him from inside his very soul.

"_Is this him?"_

"_Yeah, this is him."_

_A well-dressed middle-aged man bent down and pushed the bridge of his glasses higher on his upturned nose, getting a closer look at Souta, who wondered if maybe this man would be his new father. Had his sister found someone to come and rescue him?_

"_He's a little thin."_

"_Yeah, well, I'm not the Queen of England. I get paid the right amount to feed them enough to keep them alive and out of the hospital."_

_The man nodded, and Souta couldn't help but notice that he wasn't smiling like a father should. In fact, he looked downright nervous._

"-hurts… It hurts…" Rin mumbled on the floor next to him, bringing him from his thoughts.

"S'okay, Rin, it's all over now." He leaned over her, realizing that she was still unconscious and merely talking in her sleep. Carefully, he scooped her up again, off the cold tile, and placed her gently into the tub, the brown, tattered blanket still wrapped around her frame.

Holding her head above the rising water, he scooped up a handful of the warm liquid and poured it gently over her hairline, wetting her flushed forehead.

"_Comm'ere, kid. Lemmie take off your shirt. I gotta check and see if you're healthy."_

_A strange feeling of pure horror settled over Souta as the shirt was lifted from his upper body and the man touched his chest in a way that made him suddenly feel nauseous. "Wh- what are you doing?" His voice cracked._

"_Just be quiet. Be quiet and it will be easier."_

Souta shook his head, willing back the tears that were pooling behind his eyes. Something inside him had snapped. As he looked down at the girl who had just been hurt beyond reason, at the girl he'd taken under his wing and sworn to protect, his mind closed off from his emotions, and suddenly, he just didn't care. He was done with it. It was over. Fuck his sister and fuck the world. It didn't matter that this girl had been through what he had. It didn't matter that her life was about to change for the very worst. It didn't matter that if he was gone, she'd be taking his place as the headmistress's favorite.

He was getting out.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Kouga sighed as he placed down the phone. Kitari's youthful, cheery 'goodbye!' still ringing annoyingly in his sensitive ears. If the kid wasn't so damn good at his job, he'd have had him killed off already. But he got results, and results were what Kouga needed. Besides, finding shape-shifting demons such as Kitari was hard to find. …Mainly because they tended to hide in forms that weren't their own. Sneaky bastards.

It had been a week now since Kouga had first called up Kitari and offered him the job, and only seven days later, Kitari had finally told him that he'd found the perfect form to do his job in.

It was a slight relief of Kouga's part, as Kikyou had yet to contact him with more information on this new fiancé of Inuyasha's. When she did call, he'd have some good news to tell her, which would make her happy, which would get her off the phone quicker, which would make Kouga's headache much less severe.

The bit of good news that Kitari had handed off had a hand in Kouga's mood lightening, and he was just about to call Emi in to flirt a little when he heard a loud noise coming from just outside his office doors.

"I need to see him!"

Oh Gods, he knew that voice. Why did that brat always have to barge in here like he was the only damn client Kouga had?

"Mr. Kobun, sir, if you'd just wait a moment so I can inform Kouga that you're here, I'll-"

"No need for that, I'll just-"

"No, _wait-_!!!"

BANG!

The door flew open.

"Kouga!"

"I'm sorry, Sir! He pushed by me, I couldn't-"

Kouga raised his hand to silence his secretary and pointed to the door. "It's fine, Emi. No worries. If you'll excuse us?" He waited for her to close the door before he let out a primal growl. "Inuyasha."

"Mangy Wolf." Inuyasha growled right back, his arms crossed over his chest, trying to stand as straight and tall as possible. Not that it helped any. Inuyasha wasn't any taller than he was which made towering over Kouga an impossible form of intimidation for him to take.

Not that Inuyasha really needed to intimidate Kouga more than he already could. As much as he hated to admit it, the fact that Inuyasha could get him fired made him afraid, not the fact that Inuyasha could kick his ass.

Which he couldn't.

Kick Kouga's ass, that is.

As it was, Kouga had to bite down on his tongue to avoid voicing the insult that lay just behind his lips. "What can I do for you, Inuyasha?" He asked with a very controlled tone. "You know I always set up appointments with you no matter what. What's so important that you had to barge in on me and scare my secretary?"

Inuyasha shoved his nose into the air. "Keh. Bitch wasn't scared of me, she works for _you_ for a living, doesn't she?" He grinned that damned cocky grin and Kouga could feel the blood rushing to his head. One day he'd get him to break and they could go at it like real men. Er… Youkai. "But I'm not here to insult you," he continued, "I'm here to have you write up a contract for me."

Kouga raised his eyebrow. "A contract? What kind?"

"I dunno." Inuyasha shrugged. "One that says the signer will be mine until we reach our wedding day. Then she'll be free to do as she pleases. Oh, and we need to include adoption into it."

He had to admit he was shocked. Out of all the things to write up a contract for… sure, there were prenuptials, which was something that was done quite often with the richer folks, but this request was a bit different. "…What the hell did you do? Send for a mail-order bride?" He scoffed.

"Just shut up and write the damn thing." Inuyasha growled a slight flush on his face. "The girl's name is Kagome Higurashi. I'll be paying her 310,000 yen a week. The boy who we'll be adopting is Souta Higurashi. The orphanage is located in center city, I don't know the address. Track the kid down." He sat down in the chair across the desk and smiled at Kouga's obvious shock. "Well? Get to it. I need this thing signed when the girl gets back from shopping."

Shaking his head to organize his racing thoughts, Kouga looked at his computer and sat down also, pulling up the needed tools to write up a contract and started to type.

He was shaking, but not because Inuyasha had come to him for this. No, he was shaking because he had just found out the girl's name, the fact that she had a little brother, _and_ that this new fiancé of his was a complete and utter _sham_.

Oh Gods, was he ever going to be on the good side of Kikyou for a very, very long time.

He had to breath in a deep breath to stop the giant grin that was threatening to break out on his face. "Well, let's get started then. How old is she?"

"Seventeen."

Kouga raised his brow. "A little young, isn't she?"

"She'll be eighteen in six months." He growled.

"Well, be that as it may, the contract will have to be signed by her parents because she'd underage."

"She doesn't have any parents, and before you ask, no guardians, either."

"I see. In that case, she'll be able to sign it herself, although you need to make it clear to her that it is legal binding, and that she can't use the fact that she's underage against us in the future."

Inuyasha snorted. "Believe me; I'm paying her enough that she won't complain."

"Sounds good to me. Also, the part about adoption? She won't be able to adopt until she's of age, too, which means that unless she wants to wait six months to adopt her brother, _you'll_ have to do the adoption." Kouga looked up over his monitor to gage Inuyasha's reaction.

His face had gone pale, and his frown deepened, but he slowly nodded his head. "Is there some way that I can transfer the adoption over to her once she turns eighteen?"

Kouga nodded back in reply. "Yes there is, is that what you want written?"

"Yeah, write that in." He rolled his eyes. "After all, how much trouble can one, little child be?"

.o0o0o0o0o.

"Souta..." A young boy with light brown hair whispered, wringing his hands in his shirt. "Souta, what are you doing? You're going to get us all into trouble again."

"Go away." Souta knotted his eyebrows together, seething as he packed the few clothes that he had into a brown knapsack. He was getting out. Away from it all. Away from that... that bitch.

"But-"

"Leave me alone!" He placed in one shirt, one pair of pants, one pair of shoes, and one pair of socks along with that picture of his sister that he had hidden under his pillow, a black-and-white photo that was so worn out he could barely make out her smiling face. Not that he was bringing it along because he missed the bitch. But revenge was something that was on his mind, and he'd be more likely to find her with the photo. Plus, it had been years since he'd seen her. He was a little worried he wouldn't recognize her.

This was the plain: Escape like his sister had, find her on the streets, which shouldn't be too hard, as the headmistress told him she was a prostitute. So walking the streets should lead him to her in a decent amount of time. Then, when he'd found her, he'd kill her. Or at least beat the crap out of her. It would be his revenge for her leaving him here like this.

"I-I'm sorry…" Said the youngster, wincing at Souta's tone of voice.

Souta turned to the boy, who was only a few years his junior, and gave him a last, sad smile. "I know you're only looking out for me, but I have to leave. I can't stay here anymore."

"Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know. But if my sister could do it than so can I."

"But your sister is a sl-"

"Shut up, I know." He interrupted, turning and shoving past the other boy, making his way towards the window. He lifted the pane, wincing as it made a screeching noise on the way up, and turned to look at the closed door. He sighed, shaking his head and meeting eyes with the boy. "Rin is going to cry a lot when she wakes up. Don't try and make her be quiet, just hold her and comfort her, okay?"

The boy hesitated, but nodded.

"And don't let her try and find me. Tell her I'll be back…" He had to tell himself that he wasn't _really_ like his sister. No, he'd keep his promise to Rin. "Tell her I'll be back when I've found a job and get her out of here, okay?"

Again, he nodded.

Souta sighed and looked down at the muddy grass below the widow, the two stories he was about to fall seeming like ten or twenty instead. "I'm sorry, Rin." He breathed, whispering almost to himself, a silent prayer to the little girl that lay broken in her bed. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." And with that, he lifted his leg up and over the sill, bending his back to slip through the small opening.

He sat there, looking down, preparing himself for the shock of the fall, reminding himself to roll out of the fall like they did in the movies.

A small gasp and thundering footsteps were his only warnings as the door to the room suddenly flew open, hitting the wall with a loud BANG and making the window he was sitting in shake.

"YOU LITTLE FUCK!!"

Shit! He'd almost gotten away clean!

His head spun around and his eyes winded to stare in shock at the headmistress, who was now stomping towards him at an incredible speed. He sat, frozen, half his body out of the window, before realization dawned in on him, and he struggled to get his entire body out.

She grabbed onto his arm before he could make his escape, her brightly painted nails cutting into his skin, squeezing the blood out of him. He screamed as his body fell from the sill and dangled, hanging from only her fingers. She screamed just as loud from the shock of his weight tearing at her weak muscles as he struggled, beating at her hand, not caring that they were the only thing keeping him from falling.

"Let me GO!!" Souta screamed, yanking his body weight down.

Gravity did the rest.

He fell.

The headmistress's scream was the last thing he heard before he felt the sick cracking of bone, and a pain so intense he saw white swept from his left leg and lower arm throughout his entire body.

It was a struggle not to pass out.

At first he was confused as to what had just happened, he couldn't tell the ground from the sky, and he was sure there were multiple voices screaming at him to get up and run. …Or was that just him screaming at himself to move?

He couldn't tell, but he did listen.

Slowly, he dragged himself through the mud, about a foot-and-a-half before everything went dark and hazy. And then all he could hear were sounds.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Kouga picked up the phone and dialed Kikyou's number. She picked up on the first ring. "What."

"You'll never believe what I've just discovered." Kouga grinned and leaned back in his chair. "And when you hear it, you're going to want to come over here and fuck my brains out."

She snorted. "I seriously doubt it. Tell me what you've found."

"I know the fiancé's name, her brother's name, where she'd from and that she's being _paid_ to marry him."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Kouga thought for a second she'd hung up, but then a sort of short, wild laughter was heard over the phone, a laughter that made chills spread up his spine. "Oh, Kouga dear." She purred. "Have your pants off when I get over there. I'm going to fuck your brains out."

The line went dead.

"Shit." He'd been joking. The last thing he wanted was another pregnancy scare. But he also wanted to live.

Kouga stood and pulled down his pants.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Holy crap, that's twenty-six pages of reading for you! I hope you liked it!

Now to write a letter of apology to my beta, who should know that I love with all my heart and appreciate more than anything, and am really, really, REALLY sorry for avoiding for about a month-and-a-half while writing out this chapter.

…Wah I'm so, so, SO sorry! Please forgive me!!!

SugarRos


	6. Reckless Circumvention

A/N: Okay, so I took a few days – er - MONTHS off before I started this chapter. I was avoiding it for a couple reasons: 1. I'm sick of writing when I finish a chapter, 2. I didn't foresee this chapter when I plotted the story out, so this is actually a filler of sorts, and 3. I'm just a procrastinator all around.

But I decided to finish it all up last night, and get it out to you all today. Feel thankful, I only had two hours of sleep last night thanks to that! But it's okay, because I love all my reviewers. ::loves::

It was taking up a LOT of space to reply to each of you on here, so I'll just be replying via FF.N messaging. …But you have to REVIEW, people! Remember that it keeps me going, and I want to know what you like/dislike about my fic. Also, constructive criticism is _more_ than welcome, it's appreciated. .

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to JupiterRain44, who left a lovely review and shares my hatred for Mary-Sue Kagome and my love for Sango-Miroku fluff. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Special Thanks goes out to: Purpletutugirl, who pointed out a few grammar errors in chapter five. I'll get on them right away. .

-SugarRos.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Chapter Six: Reckless Circumvention

.o0o0o0o0o.

Akane walked slowly down the sidewalk in the early hours of the morning. The sun had just risen on another pure-blue day; the sort of day that most people went out and enjoyed to the fullest.

But then again, most people weren't coming down off uppers.

Ugh. This was the bad thing about cocaine: it never lasted very long, and the comedown wasn't pleasant. She could suck it up her nose like candy, and only a couple hours later she'd be broke, out of the powder, and pissed at the world as a whole.

It was true what they said about addicts. About how the drug absolutely ruined lives. How it ran other people off. Akane now snorted the drug because she felt guilty over Kagome's disappearance, and all the same, she felt guilty because she snorted the drug. It was killing Akane, much like the coke itself was, that Kagome had never come back.

What the hell had happened to her? Akane had been coked out of her mind when Kagome had walked in on her little party and saw that Akane was still using, and it was slightly fuzzy how she had reacted.

Obviously, she left. And Akane felt bad, she really did. But Kagome didn't understand the pain of _not_ being on the drug. She didn't understand the want. The need. The pure, driven force that controlled her entire body.

'_Coke.'_ It would whisper in her ear. _'Coooke.'_ It persisted until she couldn't hear any other thought. Until she couldn't hear any outside voice. Until all she could see was the fine, white, crystallized powder floating around in her mind, forcing her to finally give in and fork up the money to get a fix.

She berated herself silently about her choice of drug addiction as she turned the corner onto another deserted street. Why the hell couldn't she have latched onto something that lasted longer? Like speed? Then she wouldn't be going through withdrawals so often or spending her money on so much of it.

As soon as the thought was realized, she shook her head and sighed. She was lying to herself still, it seemed. She'd buy just as much speed if she were hooked on it than coke. She'd buy it by the boatloads. Speed-heads weren't any different than coke-addicts, except speed could have anything in it, and you'd just never know. No, the truth was Akane was simply hooked. The powder had her by the throat, and wasn't about to let her go free any time soon. Or at all.

Her anger slowly faded as exhaustion took its course, and the depression Akane felt as she struggled to make it back to her apartment was overwhelming. Negative thoughts plagued at her mind, digging into her soul so that nothing, absolutely nothing was going to break her away from the life she had chosen for herself.

Nothing, that is, except for the small, beaten child laying in the middle of the vacant lot to her left.

'_What the…?'_

She would have missed the child completely if she hadn't heard his small, quiet whimper of pain. As it was, she had to pause in her step before she could make out the pale, ragged form of a small brown-haired boy lying on the dirt, his chest heaving up and down quite noticeably. After realizing that he seemed to be in a lot of pain, Akane started towards him slowly, cautiously, not really afraid, but not wanting to startle the small thing, and not really wanting to be startled herself.

She was, after all, coming down off uppers, and she couldn't be too sure how she'd react to whatever the boy would do or say.

She breathed a sigh of relief, however, when she saw that his eyes were indeed opened, albeit looking around in a frantic, panicked sort of way.

"Hello?" She called out tentatively, still a few feet away from his limp form.

The boy jerked his body as if he'd been shot with a bolt of electricity, and his eyes focused in on hers. "…Who's there?" He called, his voice high-pitched and panicky.

"Are you in pain?" She asked, wondering how he had come to be in such a bad way in the middle of an abandoned lot.

"I… I don't…" He managed to mumble out, looking slightly confused.

Curiosity got the better of her, and Akane closed in the last few feet and bent over him, getting a closer look. He seemed to be out of it, but heck, so was she, and she wasn't up to deal with anyone's shit at the moment. "Common, kid. Get on your feet." She scooped him under his arms and lifted with all her might, but dropped him like a sack of potatoes when he let out an anguished scream. "What?" She cried, her heart beating out of her chest. "What is it?"

"I-" He gasped out, sweat gathering at his brow. "I think I might have broken my leg… and my arm, too." He uttered in absolute pain.

"Oh." Of _course_ it was going to be complicated. What was with her and running into people in need of dire and desperate help? She sighed and bent down over his body again. "Okay, I'm going to check and see if it's broken." And with a few swift, calm, calculated movements, and a few whimpers from the small boy, she gave him a grim half-smile. "Well, don't worry _too_ much, kid. You twisted your knee something fierce, it's probably a bad sprain there," she chewed on the inside of her cheek before continuing. "your arm is harder to tell. More than a sprain, but not broken. Most likely a fracture."

"How- how can you tell?" He asked, worry and pain evident on his childish face, along with a hint of disbelief.

Akane couldn't help the small smile that crept up onto her face. The kid reminded her of Kagome in some ways. In fact, he was about her age when she had first stumbled across Kagome. They sort of had the same eyes. "A while ago I lived with quite a few people who always ended up with injuries. I had to be able to heal them up quick." She had to force back all the painful memories that came with the pleasant ones. Ryoga who'd always seemed to show up randomly with strange injuries, her Father and Mr. Saoutome who always ended up getting a good beating from their master, and her fiancé, Ranma, who had – although usually chided her with mean remarks – always stepped in harms' way when she was being threatened, and always became injured because of it.

She shook her head to rid her of her thoughts as the small boy replied.

"Oh." He simply mumbled. He was sitting now, at least, but he was still in agony, she could tell.

"Where do you live, kid?" She asked, sitting back on her heels and folding her arms around herself. The panic of seeing what she had thought to be a dead body had lifted all thoughts of candy powder, but now that he was alive and mostly well, her body began to ache for the substance once more.

He flinched at the question, but answered after a lengthy hesitation. "I… I don't live anywhere, I guess. I just ran away." A sudden fearful look overcame him, and he glanced around. "…Wait a second… Where am I?"

Akane raised her eyebrow in suspicion. "Don't tell me you've lost your memories as well." She couldn't help but notice the skeptical tone her voice took.

The boy shuddered into himself and shook his head. "No… I mean, I remember what happened right before I… But if that's so, how did I get here….?" He looked up into the early morning sky as if it held all the answers to his questions.

Akane sighed and stood up, shaking her head. "Well, okay, I'm not a completely horrible person to make you stay out on the streets. They can be extremely cruel to the young." She bit her lip as he turned his head to look up at her and they made eye contact.

Why did he remind her so much of Kagome?

"What do you mean?" He asked innocently.

"Come on, I'll help you up." She bent slightly at the waist and held out her hand for him to grasp. "You can come stay with me until you can reach someone else to help you out."

The shocked look on his face was priceless and familiar, and it made Akane's heart ache, wondering where Kagome could be at this very moment.

"You'll let me stay with you?" He couldn't believe his ears.

She nodded, and took his hand into her own, throwing his arm over her shoulder and helping him up, this time with much more cautious care. The boy let her lead him to her apartment, which took much more time than it would have if A) the boy's leg and arm hadn't been injured, and B) he hadn't passed out in pain right in the middle of the trip.

Sighing in annoyance, Akane shifted so as to get a better hold of him and dragged him the rest of the way.

Getting up the stairs was a bitch. Beneath

.o0o0o0o0o.

A week later, Souta woke up.

His first conscious thought was that he was warm. Warmer than he'd ever remembered being while in the orphanage. Warm like the few years he'd spent with his parents before he and his sister were sent to such a terrifying place.

So why was he feeling that warmth now?

Slowly, his eyes blinked open. Once. Twice. Three times before he adjusted to the glow of the afternoon sun shining in through a window to his left. The ceiling above his head was cracked and bore watermarks, signs of flooding. Slowly he sat up to see the bed he was currently laying on was topped with a large amount of torn, dirty, yet extremely warm blankets, and the walls of the small apartment were cracked and had a number of holes gouged into them.

Shaking, he pulled back one of the blankets, wincing in agony as his leg and arm, both tightly bound, shot pain through his body. He cried out, dropping the blanket as he clenched his teeth to stop the flow of tears that had suddenly sprung into his eyes.

What had happened to him? He couldn't… quite… remember…

Slowly, he tried to move his feet, but that, too, shot excruciating pain up his left side, and he grit his teeth again, stifling a groan. "Damn…" He breathed, hissing the words out through his teeth.

"You cuss?"

Souta jumped a mile into the air, which he immediately regretted due to even more pain rocketing through him, and he let out another string of curses in his agony. He'd thought he'd been alone.

The voice snickered. "Apparently so."

Finally able to breathe normally again, Souta turned his head to see a girl, no, a woman, sitting across the room, a yellow mug in one hand and a newspaper in the other. She looked grimy and thin, and her eyes bore dark circles, which stood out next to her pale skin. Her short, black-blue hair was greasy and slightly tangled.

"Ah…" Souta spoke, not entirely comfortable to be so unaware of his surroundings and company. "Who are you?"

The woman raised her brow and placed down her magazine as she looked straight at him. "You don't remember me?"

He shook his head, eyes wide. "Should I?"

"You should." She muttered, picking her magazine back up and taking a sip of whatever was in the steaming mug she was clutching.

Souta bit his lip, trying desperately to remember. The orphanage, the Headmistress, the fall… the pain. And then a girl with dark hair and sunken eyes trying to pull him up. Gods, how that had hurt.

He frowned. "You helped me?"

"I did." She didn't look away from her magazine.

He shook his head, trying to sort out his thoughts. They were all hazy, like dreams, and he realized he felt sluggish, as if he'd been asleep for a very long time. "How long have I been out?"

"Hmmm…" She said, eyes still locked on the article in front of her. "I'd say for about the better part of the week."

"A _week_?" His voice took on a strange, high pitch and he felt himself go white. "I've been out for a _week_?"

The woman nodded, taking another sip before allowing her eyes to drift back over to him. She took in his appearance, sighed, placed down her magazine again and stood to walk the short distance to his side. "Alright." She muttered, sitting down on the bed next to him. "Let's check your wounds."

Souta shrunk back as she invaded his private space, expecting icy cold hands to clamp hard onto his body and force him to bend over. Instead, she merely held out her hands and calmly waited for him to touch her.

For a second, Souta was unsure what to make of it. Could he trust her to touch him? To help him? He took another look at his surroundings, sucked in a deep breath, and figured he was trapped. He couldn't move with his leg, he didn't know where he was or what was on the other side of the apartment door, and… well… he felt as if he could trust this woman. She had, after all, taken him in out of the cold and bandaged him up. He just hoped she hadn't seen the bruises and welts that covered his lower stomach and chest.

Slowly, he placed his hands into hers.

She acted as if he hadn't shown he'd been conflicting with himself at all. "So, Kid. What's your story?" She pulled at his arm lightly, and started to unwrap the bandage.

"My story?" He asked, eyes intent on her actions, curious as to how she touched him. Gently, controlled, avoiding the places people _normally_ touched him. It felt strange. He didn't know how to react.

The corners of her mouth tilted up. "Where're you from? What happened to you? Why did I find you in an abandoned lot all beaten up?" She finished unwrapping the bandage and paused to raise her eyebrow at him again. "You had to have known I'd be curious." She added, a light tone in her voice that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Souta shivered, not wanting to remember the cold woman that still haunted his conscious. "I was… running away." He mumbled, tilting his head down.

"From home?" She bent his arm slightly at the elbow.

He winced. "No, I don't have a home."

"Where were you running from then?" She asked, re-wrapping the bandage and patting it as a finishing touch.

Souta froze, warning signs going off in his head. He just met this woman. He didn't know her. She could easily turn him in. End his life. Kill him. She could be anyone, he just didn't know.

He also didn't like the fact of anyone knowing what he'd had to deal with. What they'd all done to him. The dull ache of the pain they inflicted on his body was still fresh. It still throbbed. He still felt disgusted and dirty.

"Not going to tell me, huh?" She wasn't looking at his face, she simply moved down to inspect his knee.

"Sorry," he mumbled, embarrassed, "I just-"

She held up her hand to interrupt. "It's fine, we all have our little secrets." Then she gave him a wink and put his leg down. "So if you're not going to tell me _where_ you were running from, will you tell me _why_?"

He paused, his mouth hanging open for a few seconds as he thought out how to answer this question also. There was no way in hell he was letting her know what they had done to him there, what they had forced him to do. He didn't want her to know that, to think him disgusting or dirty, like the other kids had. He realized it felt so good for someone to not look at him with eyes of either lust or extreme pity. Finally, he landed on an answer that was not the whole truth, but enough of it.

"I'm trying to find my sister."

"Your sister?" Both her brows rose this time, in curiosity.

He nodded. "Yeah, she ran from the- ..er... she ran away as well a few years ago, but I haven't heard from her since." He blushed at his mistake. Being from an orphanage was shameful. He didn't want her to know. "It's really important that I find her."

"Why?" She tilted her head to the side.

Souta sighed, shaking his head. "She made a promise to me and broke it. I need to find her and make her keep it." His hands clutched into the blankets in his lap, and he winced, feeling the shooting pain in his arm again.

The woman stood and walked across the room, leaning against the wall, her arms crossing in front of her. He eyes seemed to grow darker. "Who's to say she's not dead?"

He paused, pursing his lips, thinking it over. "….She's not," he finally replied, and knew that it was true, "I just know."

It was her turn to pause, a frown playing on her pale lips. "…Well, it must be true then. Where do you plan on going?"

Souta didn't answer. Where _was_ he going to go? It's not like he had any money or any working experience, and he was injured now, too. Mentally cursing himself for being so foolish in his escape of the orphanage, he slowly shook his head.

"Don't have a place to go, huh?" She confirmed, a strange tone in her voice. "I thought as much." She paused for a few seconds, and Souta was sure that she would give him no more than a week to heal up and head out.

"Would you like to stay here?"

What was that? "I'm sorry?"

"Would you like to stay here?" Her face was pulled into an expression of amusement.

"Here?" He confirmed, making sure he'd heard her right.

She snorted and rolled her eyes, pushing away from the wall with her foot. "Well, it's not the Hilton, but it's a roof. And besides, I've been rather lonely since my… _roommate_ left." She finished with a frown.

Souta cocked his head to the side, noticing the tone of disappointment in her voice. "Why did she leave?" He asked, genuinely curious. "I mean, you seem like a nice enough person."

Her eyes narrowed and she lifted her hand up to her lips, thoughtfully. "Mmm, I guess you could saw we were headed towards different things, and she didn't like the way I lived. " Then she rolled her eyes again, shaking her head. "Not that I can blame her, _I_ don't like the way I live." She let out a sarcastic bark of laughter.

"So she just left?"

"I think so. She got angry and stomped out, but she never came back. I haven't heard from her since." She shrugged.

"Aren't you worried?" His hands twisted in the blankets.

She waved her hand in front of her face. "Nah, I've got stuff to take my mind off of it. So I'll tell you what. You can stay here, and you can rest up and start looking for your sister once you feel up to it." Her lips curled up. "All you have to do is keep out of my stuff, got it?"

He nodded. "Got it."

"Good. You'll like it here, kid." She stood and headed for the kitchen, turning on the faucet and started scrubbing at a dirty pan.

"Souta." He had to control his voice so it wouldn't crack with emotion. How could he possibly have come across such good luck?

"I'm sorry?" She asked, half-listening from the kitchen.

"Souta. My name is Souta."

Slowly, she put the pot down, turned to face him, and smiled. "Akane."

She wasn't his sister, but Souta suddenly felt at home.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Kikyou had fucked Kouga's brains out.

Gods, the woman was crazy, but the sex was amazing. Incredible. He knew why Inuyasha had gotten so hooked. So obsessed. So… trapped.

Luckily, Kouga had gotten smart when it came to Kikyou, and never became drunk before they did the deed, and he always made damn sure he had a condom that he'd bought himself on-hand. Not trusting her would save his reputation and job in the end. Being blackmailed once by the psycho was enough.

Kikyou lay on his desk, biting at her thumbnail and staring at the ceiling fan, that thoughtful, slightly angry look in her eyes that let Kouga know she was plotting.

"Adoption…" She muttered out, her voice deep with anger. "I can't believe that seventeen-year-old little… _twit_ has gotten it into Inuyasha's head to adopt! It's infuriating!"

"Mmm," Kouga agreed, sitting in his chair, fully dressed and now impatient for her to leave. She made him uneasy when she wasn't riding him like the sex goddess she was. "I think he's planning on handing the kid over to her when they break the marriage off."

Kikyou let out a small, wicked little laugh at his words. "Kouga, I can't believe this information. The marriage being a sham is absolutely perfect. If I wait for the right moment, the right time to break such news to Senator Kobun and his wife…" She let the threat hang in the air.

"You promised you'd leave my part in all this out of it, right Kikyou?" He asked, the annoyance evident in his voice. He didn't trust her one damn bit.

She harrumphed and stood from his desk, still completely naked and still utterly sexy. Kouga felt his manhood twitch. He covered it up by leaning into the desk. He didn't want her staying for a second round, he had work to do.

"Don't worry," she muttered, picking up her dress and stepping gracefully into it, "they'll never know about our… _deal_." The last word was an obvious double meaning. _'Don't forget I've still got you good.'_ The word said. _'Rape is an awfully hard charge to disprove.'_

He couldn't help the threatening growl that escaped his throat. "No need to threaten me, Kikyou. I know what you can do."

"Let's not forget it, shall we?" She zipped up the dress and grabbed at her purse, pulling out her lipstick and compact. "How is Kitari doing, the little scoundrel?" She asked nonchalantly.

"He's doing his job, following the girl around. When he sees an opening he'll dive in, I promise."

"Mmm, I hope he does." She raised her eyebrow, her lips now perfectly painted a dark red. "For your sake, of course."

Then she was out the door.

Kouga couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief before calling up Kitari to make damn sure he was doing his job.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Akane opened the door of the beaten up 1995 Buick Riviera, a wad of dollar bills in her hand and a mouthful of bad taste. Slamming it behind her, she took off down the street without a backwards glance, and after turning a corner, she stopped and counted out the bills. 1,080 Yen. 1,080 Yen for a blow wasn't a lot. It certainly wasn't enough to pay off her dealer, whom she owed much more than 1,080 Yen. Unfortunately, the blow was wearing off again, and she knew it would only be a little while before she went crazy with need.

Cash. She needed cash. Enough to pay off her dealer _and_ buy more off of him. Enough to get her through another week of working to buy food for her and her new roommate.

She shouldn't have taken the kid in, even if he _did_ remind her of Kagome. Even if she was fairly certain he, in fact, _was_ Kagome Higurashi's little brother. The one she had talked about getting away from the orphanage. How many homeless little boys named Souta could there possibly be in the area? And ones that looked like Kagome's counterpart no less?

Even so, she shouldn't have taken him in. His leg had healed up enough, though his arm could get a good look at by a doctor, so he was okay to walk around. But who the hell would hire him? What could he possibly do but steal food?

Nothing, that's what. And money she could be giving to her dealer was spent on the little boy she'd helped from the goodness of her heart. What did he give in return? It was just take, take, take with him. He was like an infant, unable to care for himself in the least!

The more she thought, the more angry and resentful she became, and the more the need for the powder grew, until she could barely contain her rage. She began to make her way back to her apartment, fully intending to tell the little brat to get the hell out and never come back. To tell him that the other homeless kids on the streets made it, and he damn well could also. Life was tough, and he needed to learn that no one would help him. He'd gotten lucky running into Akane as he had, and he should be thankful and move on. Find it damn sister by himself.

Then she passed the poster stapled to the telephone pole on the sidewalk.

'WANTED' was printed in giant letters on the top, and Souta stared back at her, his big eyes happy as he smiled up into the camera. He looked a bit younger than he was now, but that was him. And underneath him was a price for his return.

_Souta Higurashi_

_5'0 tall_

_12 years old_

_Brown hair, brown eyes._

_Please contact Center City Orphanage with information or whereabouts._

_REWARD: 55,000 Yen._

Fifty-five thousand Yen. Fifty-five _thousand_. That would easily be enough to pay off her dealer _and_ buy enough blow to get her through the next few _months_!

She could feel the coke, practically _taste_ it running down the back of her throat after having snorted it up her delicate nose. Ah, the thought brought shivers up her spine, turned her on, gave her something to dream and lust after.

The boy had to get used to disappointment, right? Had to get used to betrayal. Besides, he had escaped once, who was to say he couldn't do it again?

Having convinced herself, Akane stopped at the closest public phone and dialed the contact number.

A cold voice answered the phone. "Center City Orphanage."

"Ah, yes, I'd like to speak to your headmistress, please?"

"One second."

Akane shifted on her feet, feeling nauseous, but not able to tell if it was because of withdrawal or because she was about to do something despicable.

"What?" The voice was flat and uncaring.

"Headmisstress?" Akane asked, willing her voice to be harsh a strong.

"Yes. What is it?"

She took in a deep breath. "I just saw your wanted sign, for Souta Higurashi-"

"You know where he is?" Her reply was immediate and harsh. Pushy. It caught Akane off-guard.

"Y-yeah, I know where he is, he-"

"Give me the address, I'll send someone to pick him up, and you can ride with them to collect your reward." There was a pause. "I would, of course, like to thank you in person."

The woman was getting on Akane's nerves, and she had to remind herself of the money involved in order to stay on task and get the job done. She needed that cash. She needed that blow.

"Fine." Akane gave her the address and hung up the phone, then pulled her ragged, dirty overcoat tighter around her thin frame and completed the few blocks back to her apartment.

Souta was sitting on the bed, staring out the window when she came in. The place was spotless, free of dust and grime. He knew he couldn't do much, and Akane would certainly miss his eagerness to clean the place, as some sort of payment for boarding.

She didn't think about it much, though. She thought about the money she was about to get. About the powder she would buy with it. And about fun times she'd have on it.

"Akane, you're home!" He exclaimed, wincing as he slid off the bed and walked towards her to give her a hug.

Akane backed away from him, but placed a cheerful smile on her face, hoping not to startle him too much.

"Hey kid." She pushed her hair out of her face. "Get dressed warmly, okay? We're about to go somewhere to grab some cash."

Souta looked up at her, confused, his head tilted to the side. "Grab some cash?" He asked, and followed Akane with his eyes as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. "You don't mean stealing it, right?" Slight nervousness moved into his tone.

"Nah. Let's just say I ran and errand and am receiving pay for it." She tried her best to smile at him nonchalant. "Relax, get dressed, they'll be here in a few minuets."

True to her word, three men dressed in their finest showed up at her door. Souta allowed them to escort them down to the awaiting taxi.

His trust in Akane amazed her. And she had to block out the fact that she was about to take the kid back to the very place he'd escaped from.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Akane fidgeted nervously in the uncomfortable wooden chair in the dark, shabby hallway of the Center City Orphanage. The dank smell of mold and unwashed bodies floated under her nose, and she scrunched up her bridge, wondering what kind of officiate could possibly be running the place.

But that was beside the point. Akane was nervous for a reason. Of course, the fact that she was completely sober at the moment had something to do with it. The sickness of withdrawal had set in again, and she was in desperate need of a fix. But other than that, she knew that she was at this place to betray the little boy she had found in a heap on her way home two weeks ago. Little Souta, who had desperately pleaded with her to keep his whereabouts a complete secret. Who had told her about his unfortunate life at the very place she was now visiting.

But the poster and the reward money it promised for the return of Souta was too great a seduction, too great a temptation. The money would pay her rent for a month and keep her up to her nose in white powder for two. The kid would just have to deal.

It wasn't like she was responsible for the kid. It wasn't like he was her little brother. And it wasn't like she could keep him in her apartment any longer, either. She couldn't feed him, she didn't have the money to buy him clothes or support him, he was just there. Too young to work and too broken to move.

Biting her lip to control the rage of conflicting emotions, and the urgent need for more powder, Akane was relieved when the headmistress stepped out of her office.

She was an uptight-looking woman, in a long, straight cotton dress of gray, her wiry, dark brown hair pulled back into a school-teacher's bun making her already-prominent thin-hooked nose stick out even more. Her eyes seemed dull and cold, and she didn't smile as she looked down at Akane.

Hurriedly, Akane stood and tried to smile through the pain of withdrawal, sticking out her hand for the woman to shake. "Hey, I'm Akane. We spoke on the phone?"

She didn't answer. Instead, the headmistress simply sneered and waved to hand towards her office door. "You may enter." She said.

A little put off by her rudeness, but thinking purely of the money she was about to receive, Akane stepped into the bland looking room and sat in front of the wooden desk.

Seconds later, the headmistress was seated across form her. Neither said a thing, and Akane began to fidget again.

"Where did you find him?" The headmistress finally asked, her thin lips pressed into an even thinner line.

"Uh, in an empty lot about ten blocks from here. I was on my way home and-"

"Was he injured? Did you notice anything?" She interrupted.

Akane paused, uneasy. "Um.. yeah, his arm and leg. Said he fell from a window-"

"Jumped, actually." She declared, no humor showing in her face.

"Yeah, well, nothing broke." Akane replied, perturbed. "Just a bad sprain and a fracture."

"Mmm, yes, well we have an on-site doctor that will look at little Souta." She pulled open a drawer and pulled out a wad of bills, placing them on the desk and sliding them over to Akane. "There you are. 55,000, as promised. Please feel free to count it out."

She did, and satisfied that it was all there, Akane smiled and stood, eager to contact her dealer and get him off her back. "Thank you very much. Have a good day then." She said, turning towards the wooden doors.

The headmistress's voice stopped her. "Ah, just one more thing, Miss Tendo."

Slowly, Akane turned to look at the chilling woman again.

"I don't suppose he's told you the whereabouts of his sister?"

"Sister?"

She nodded stiffly. "Yes, his older sister, Kagome Higurashi." The headmistress paused to stand and move around the desk, this time leaning against the edge. "She's been missing too, although it's been quite a few years now."

Akane didn't reply. Her fears had been confirmed. Souta _was_ Kagome's little brother. The irony that they would both need help from Akane… that Kagome had been just _this_ close to seeing her brother again.

She had to push the thought from her mind.

Watching Akane's conflicting facial features, the headmistress shrugged. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped. I would, however, offer another five hundred for her return." She grinned at the instant greed that appeared in Akane's eyes. "Oh well." She sighed, feigning defeat. "It's been so long, and she was oh-so-young when she left. I wouldn't be surprised if she turned up dead."

Akane paused, gulping down a heap of guilt before replying. "….What if I told you I know Kagome Higurashi?"

A drawn out silence before the headmistress spoke. "….Go on."

"Kagome Higurashi used to live with me. We were roommates. We worked the streets together. She left about a month ago, but she probably didn't go far." Akane inhaled sharply, determined to get that extra cash. "I can find her."

"Can you, now?"

"Yeah. I have my connections on the streets. I can find her."

"And you can bring her in? Completely unharmed and alive, I mean." Skepticism etched the headmistress's voice.

"Yeah, she'll come with me if I ask. I can get her here. We're good friends."

"Mmm, yes, good friends stab each other in the back all the time." She replied sarcastically, then sneered. "Junkies are good for that."

Akane jeered back as if she'd been hit, but didn't speak up to defend herself.

"Well, if you are indeed telling the truth, then the five hundred dollars is yours. After you bring her to me, of course."

She shrugged. "No biggie."

"I'm sure. You're excused."

Akane got the hint. She turned and left the office, thinking of nothing but the extra five hundred she was about to get her hands on. Eager to get out of the orphanage, which totally gave her the creeps, she stopped in shock to see Souta being dragged down the hallway by the men that had picked them up, and they passed her as she made her way towards the exit.

"You promised me!" He cried out to her. "You PROMISED me!!!" He screamed, struggling vainly against the giant pair of hands that pulled him towards the stairs. "YOU PROMISED ME!!!!"

She tried with all her might to push the image of his horror-stricken, angry, betrayed face, the sound of his desperate, fearful cries out of her mind. But it struck with her.

Even when she handed her dealer the cash Souta had earned her.

Even when she was handed a bag of powder.

Even when she sucked it up her nose through a dirty straw.

Even when she felt the pure bliss of the cocaine seep into her brain.

Souta's face, his cries, just wouldn't leave her alone.

.o0o0o0o0o.

---1,080 Yen is about 10 bucks. Sucks, doesn't it?

---55,000 Yen is about $500.

---Oh, and because I didn't mention it in the last chapter, Kagome first asks for 12,000 Yen a week, which is about $110. Not much, huh? Then Inuyasha refuses and demands to pay her 310,000 Yen a week, which evens out to about $2,900 a week. Sounds like too much, but rent, food, clothes for two people is what he considered into the deal, plus, he's rich, so a cheep place for him would cost at least 3,000 a month, right? lol.

Anyway,

Oh my gawwwwd! The angst!

Okay, this chapter was particularly emo, but I swear I didn't mean for it to be. At least no one is cutting themselves, right? (No, SugarRos! They're just being molested and snorting drugs up their noses, GREAT. Not emo at all!) haha.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. It ended up being COMPLETELY Akane/Souta filled (with a little Kikyou/Kouga thrown in), but at least we now know the motive for Akane seeking out Kagome again. How many people are after her now? The Headmistress, Akane, Kouga, Kitari (whoever the hell THAT is! Care to take a guess?) and Kikyou. Is Kagome popular, or what? Too bad they all want to do bad things to her.

The next chapter shouldn't be too far along. I got my urge to write back after this chapter, and FINALLY Inuyasha and Kagome will make an appearance again. I know you're not seeing a lot of them at the moment, but it was important to the story that I get some side characters some time in here, otherwise their actions would be unexplained.

-SugarRos

Next Chapter: Acquired Resources.


	7. Acquired Resources

AN: ( Important

AN: ( Important! Please read!! ) Hello everyone!

Yes, yes, it's been a while, and I'm sorry, but I'm sure you're probably tired of hearing that by now… as I've been saying it at the beginning of every chapter, but it's true, I _am_ sorry! . I've been working on an original novel that I'm planning to publish, so honestly that's been sucking up most of my time. But no worries! Again, this story will be continued until finished! Promise.

Also, I'd like to say that I'm afraid this chapter is shorter than the others. I usually try and churn out twenty-or-so pages a chapter, but it's taking too long now that my time is spent on my original. But I promise that my chapters will never be shorter than fifteen.

I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed and who has been reviewing every time I post. You guys are amazing for sticking with me, and I want you to know that it's appreciated more than you think. I do it for you.

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_Dedication_: This chapter is dedicated to Hentai Strumpet for reading this fic and leaving some nice reviews, and is an old reader of the original Pretty Kagome. Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy, Hentai Strumpet.

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.o0o0o0o0o.

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Chapter Seven: Acquired Resources.

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.o0o0o0o0o.

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Sesshoumaru sighed as he watched Kikyou pace his office again, her thumbnail being nibbled down to a stub and her eyes wide and wild. The session had been going rather well for the first half. She'd been calm and cool and controlled, at least on the outside. But that was the problem: Kikyou was a master at disguising her true feelings. That's what made all the poor saps in her life fall hard for her tricks. She was just that damn good.

As it was, she'd tried to seduce Sesshoumaru once. She'd been drunk at the time, and back then no one had known just what lay beneath her well-kept, polite manor and sophisticated looks. Of course, he'd declined her advances, blaming the alcohol for her sultry disposition, and brushed off bringing it up to his younger brother. It hadn't been that big of a deal.

Or at least he thought.

…Not that he cared much for his brother. Being the favorite of the two, Inuyasha had had a much easer life, one that he never had to work hard for. Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru had been cast out to find his own way in life, skipped over for the job of taking over his father's business and running in politics.

At first, Sesshoumaru had been furious, and it had led to many extreme battles between the two. Once, they'd gotten a hold of real swords, and Sesshoumaru had his arm sliced off. Of course, he'd easily had that problem fixed by simply paying a visit to his _Youkai_ doctor and having a new arm attached. He flexed his arm muscles that weren't really his own. They always ached in a strange way.

…His arrogant bastard of a brother. Sesshoumaru had been distracted. Kagura had just given the news that he was to be a father, so of course Inuyasha had the upper hand.

Sesshoumaru ran through a breathing exercise, calming himself. It would do him no good to get worked up over something as silly as the past, or someone as pathetic as his younger brother.

Now he was calm. He'd accepted that Inuyasha would be the one to step into his father's shoes long ago. It was okay, because Sesshoumaru was on the way to building a rather successful empire for himself, without the help of his father. Which in itself was much better than Inuyasha's situation.

And, unlike his wily brother, Sesshoumaru didn't have the crazy woman troubles that bombarded Inuyasha over and over again.

Kikyou bit at her thumbnail as she sat down in her usual seat in his office and started to rock, back and forth, ever so slightly.

She drew him from his thoughts of the past and brought him back to the current issue on hand: Cleaning up his brother's mess. "Kikyou," he started, "you've been pacing my office for a good twenty minuets now. What are you thinking?"

She sent him a glare, letting him know his patronizing tone was not appreciated, before removing the nail from her mouth. "I think there's something questionable about the girl Inuyasha is courting."

"Oh? And why do you say that?"

"Have you met the girl?" She snarled, eyebrows drawn tightly together.

"I haven't, but I heard from Houshi that she's quite the lady."

Kikyou frowned and sat back onto the leather couch. "Not from what I found out."

Sesshoumaru paused, his pen frozen on the pad of paper, unable to continue. "Kikyou…" he murmured, "what have you done?"

"Nothing that anyone else wouldn't do! Nobody I asked knew about this girl, so I did a little searching myself."

"And?"

"And I found out a few things." Kikyou crossed her legs and patted down her pencil skirt across her thighs before she smiled.

There weren't many situations that made Sesshoumaru feel anxious, and although he concealed his chill behind his blank mask, he couldn't help thinking her smile said it all.

Whatever Kikyou had found out was going to turn out to be devastating for his brother's fiancé.

He made a mental note to himself to pay a visit to Kouga once Kikyou left his office as she sat across the room from him, humming an eerily, cheery tune.

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.o0o0o0o0o.

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Inuyasha arrived home from the rather tiring meeting with Kouga, the newly drawn up contract for his new 'girlfriend' tucked safely under his arm, and headed straight for the front desk where Miroku sat with his feet propped up, looking perversely into one of the many television screens.

"Oi, Miroku." Inuyasha greeted out, slamming the contract onto the counter.

Miroku merely looked up, a small smile planted on his face. "Hello Inuyasha."

He growled. "What the hell are you watching that's got you all perverted looking?"

"Mmm?" Miroku asked, clearly distracted. "Oh, Sango's out cleaning the pool." His grin winded. "In a very lovely bathing suit, might I add."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You're lucky she likes you, otherwise I would have kicked your ass a long time ago. Creep." He added on the end for good measure.

Miroku merely shook his head, his grin stuck in place. "Now, now, Inuyasha, Sango enjoys the fact that I watch her. You should see the way she reacts when she watches videos of herself, she-"

"Miroku, Gods!" Inuyasha shouted, plastering his ears down atop his head and jerking back from the counter as if he'd been burned. "Don't tell me this stuff about you two and your sex life! I don't fuckin' wanna hear it!"

"What would you like to hear then, Inuyasha?"

After waiting a few moments for his disapproving snarl to sink in, Inuyasha rolled his eyes in disgust and slammed the file down onto the marble counter top. "This is the contract the girl has to sign. Get her to do it immediately, if I have to act like some proper, pleasant, gentleman for one more second I'll rip someone's fuckin' head off."

"Mmm, yes," Miroku replied in an amused tone, "heaven forbid you don't cuss every time you open your mouth to speak."

"Shut up." He mumbled, turning away from the desk and towards the right curved stairway. "Get it done by noon. I'm sending Sango to take the girl shopping for some proper clothes."

"You didn't like the clothes Sango found for her?"

Inuyasha let out a ripping snarl from the bottom of the stairs. "You fuckin' know I didn't! And it'd better not have been your idea to dress her like that either, you asshole!"

Miroku shrugged. "There was nothing else that would fit. Sango and I thought those clothes would look nice on her."

"Well, we won't have to worry about the wench wearing those clothes anymore after today."

"Kagome."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at his friend. "What?"

"Her name is Kagome, Inuyasha. She might be more inclined to help you out if you call her by her name."

"Keh!" He barked, making his way up the stairs. "I'm the one paying her, I'll call her whatever the hell I want."

Miroku shook his head in defeat and gathered up the contract, then grabbed the suit he used as his lawyer persona in the hospital. It wouldn't do any good for Kagome to think he was merely the estate head guard at the moment. At least not until the contract was signed.

Inuyasha, meanwhile, headed straight for his room, where he promptly flopped down onto his giant bed and closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than just to go to sleep forever.

It wasn't going to happen.

What the hell had Miroku gotten him into? This went so much deeper than just pretending to fall in love with some strange girl, which he still wasn't so sure he could do. No, now it involved serious legal matters, like adoption, and even worse _he_ was the one that was going to have to do the actual adopting.

"None of this is good." He moaned to himself, as he bit his lip, remembering the conversation he'd had with the girl about her younger brother.

"_If I could… make just one small request…"_

"_What is it?"_

"_Well… I have a younger brother…" The girl let the words hang in the air, as if afraid to go on._

"_And?" Inuyasha asked impatiently. What the hell else could she possibly want? She was getting paid more than she'd ever imagine she would be, her face was evident enough of that, and she was about lo live in first-class conditions for quite some time. How could that not be enough?_

"_And, well… I've been trying to save up the money to… adopt him." He face fell. "He's at Center City Orphanage. It's been a few years, but I promised him…"_

"_Promised him what?"_

"_That I'd get him out once I had the money to do so." Her eyes started to water._

_Inuyasha had to fight the urge to blanch. What the fuck was it with women and their tears? He sighed and crossed his arms irritably. "I'm not seeing the problem here." He could tell her to stop her sniveling until she'd signed the contract. Then he could tell her to shut the hell up all he wanted._

_He would smell the nervousness pouring out of her, fidgeting with the cuff of her – no, _Kikyou's_ – dress shirt. "I mean, I'll… do all this… agree to all this, but I need you to help me get him out."_

_She hadn't met his gaze yet, but she seemed to grow stronger as she spoke of her brother, and her head lifted, stormy eyes looking straight into his amber ones. "They beat kids at Center City Orphanage. I had been beaten for not finishing chores on time, or talking back, and it's nothing too horrible, I don't want you to think Souta is in danger of dying, but still…" She inhaled deeply and stood, taking a few steps towards him, her courage building. "I think I might need a lawyer to get him away from there."_

_Ah. He understood where she was going with this. Tilting his head to the side, Inuyasha weighed his options. He could tell her to go shove herself and then face a future of marrying the one girl he'd never, _ever_ want to, or agree and spend at least another three years a free bachelor._

_That settled it._

"_It just so happens, I have a very… obedient lawyer."_

Inuyasha uttered a frustrated growl, rolling onto his stomach in another futile attempt to fall asleep for some thoughtless hours of rest, but alas, fate worked against him.

His cell phone rang – the one Sango had express-delivered from DoCoMo, as his old one was still currently floating in the large pond out back – and Inuyasha grabbed one of the fluffy pillows off his bed and crushed it to his face, yelling as loud as he could into it, stifling the noise.

Then he grabbed the phone from his pocket and flipped it open without looking at the caller ID.

"What." He bit out.

"That is no way to greet me, son." Inoku grunted from the other side of the line.

Inuyasha sighed. Just what he needed. Another lecture. "Hello father."

"That's more like it." His tone stayed gruff, but lessened in volume.

"Still in the States?"

"Yes, and the politicians are still as vulgar as they are back home. We'll be back next Monday."

Inuyasha signed before taking on a bored, sarcastic tone. "What is the occasion for your lovely call?"

His father harrumphed. "No need to be satiric, son, I'm merely reminding you of the contributor party this weekend. You'll need to attend for me, of course."

"Yeah, yeah, I know all about it."

His father paused, and Inuyasha grew suspicious.

"Any other reason you called?"

It was what his father had obviously been waiting for. "Actually, I've met a few very fine ladies over here, all well-bread and increasingly beautiful. I was thinking I might fly them back to you, and you could take them to-"

"No way!" Inuyasha barked into the phone, interrupting.

"What?"

He could hear the frown in his fathers' voice on the other end. Inuyasha gulped before uttering the words that would either break him or free him. "You… you don't have to worry about finding me a fiancé, father. I… have it under control."

He could imagine his father raising his eyebrow in question. "Under control." Inoku replied, a statement rather than a question. "You have it under control?" Ah. _There_ was the question.

Inuyasha didn't hesitate. "Yeah, under control."

There was a long, drawn out silence. "What exactly does that mean? You've found a mate?"

He hesitated over the next word. "…Possibly."

"Possibly?" His father's voice tensed up. "Have you or haven't you?" He grit out through the phone, starting to get annoyed, which wasn't good. Inuyasha hurried to fill in the blanks.

"Well, I met someone… the night of the party."

"At the party last week?"

"After the party last week."

Silence. "So she didn't attend the ball? Where did you get this girl of yours? What, did you rent her off some sleazy website?"

Inuyasha bit back a cough, spooked by how close the questions was to being truth, then rolled onto his stomach again, resting his cheek on the cool comforter of his bed, resting the phone under his other ear. "Nothing like that, I ran into her after the party. She was in some trouble and I helped her out." He shrugged, as if his father could see him. "That's about it."

"That's it?" Snarled his father. "What's her name? Where is she from? Is she youkai? Hanyou? Human?"

He groaned. "Human. She's human."

Inoku snorted. "I'm not sure I like that-"

"Like what, dear? You've something against humans?"

Inuyasha let out a yelp at the same moment his father had, both genuinely surprised. His mother merely laughed.

"Three-way-calling is the best invention." She declared.

Inuyasha couldn't help but grin. "Mom!" He was going to say more, but his father interrupted, his voice now slightly nervous.

"Of course I don't have anything against humans, woman. Human women are the best kind to have." He paused. "I'm just not sure if a human would be safe in the hands of our son."

"Oh, dear, you worry too much." She cooed. "Our son takes after you. I'd love to see him marry a human. Youkai women are so… demanding."

Inuyasha couldn't help but think of Sesshoumaru's mom. He grinned. Demanding was an understatement.

Inoku merely huffed. "So, when do we meet this mystery woman?" He asked, turning his attention back to his son in hopes of avoiding the conversation of youkai women all together.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak, but his mother beat him to it.

"Why, as soon as we get back, at dinner. After all, if this is the woman our Inuyasha has chosen, we must know everything about her right away."

Inuyasha's heart skipped a terrifying beat, absolutely dreading the moment his parents would make it home. He cleared his throat, hoping his voice wouldn't give him away. "Of course, mother." He ensured. "Now, if you'll both excuse me, I need to see to Miroku."

"Oh?" His father questioned. "Did something happen to him?"

"Not yet." He replied, and itched to hang up the phone. If his father had been on the other end he wouldn't have hesitated.

"Don't be too hard on him, Inuyasha. He is your best friend after all." His mother berated, a light tone to her voice.

He resisted the urge to mutter a 'best friend my ass' and instead agreed. "Don't worry, mom, I won't kill him, I promise."

"Sango would mutilate you, dear."

Inuyasha nodded his head vigorously, even though his parents couldn't see. "Yes, she would. I'm leaving now. By mom! …Father."

"I love you, son." His mom called out before he pushed the end button, and let out a frustrated growl, then rolled over onto his stomach and tried again to fall asleep.

He was unsuccessful.

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"You promised me! Akane!! _Akane_!!"

Souta felt the sharp sting of a rather hard slap on the side of his cheek. But it didn't do anything. He just continued to shout out her name. Akane. The girl who had taken him in off the streets, the girl who had healed him enough, fed him enough, clothed him enough. The girl he had come to trust in such a short amount of time.

The girl who had reminded him so much of an older sister.

"Akane…" He wailed. It hurt. It hurt so much he couldn't think straight. As soon as he had realized where they were headed, Souta had put up a fight for his life. And they'd practically beaten the shit out of him for it.

Akane had just sat up front, tuning out his cries and avoiding his gaze.

_"What did I do, Akane?!" He cried, panic welling up in his chest, trying to get through to her, trying to get some sort of reaction. "Whatever it is, I'm sorry, it won't happen again!"_

The men still held him down, smacking him across the face. "I'll get a job, Akane! I get a job and I can stay, right? Right?!"

She didn't answer, just continued to stare out the window.

"Akane!!"

"Shut up, up you little prick!" The headmistress seethed in his face. He could barely make out her enthralled expression through his anguished tears.

Slowly, Souta let out a feeble moan and rolled over onto his side. A sharp pain from his almost-healed injuries shot up his entire right side, and he couldn't tell if it was that or the fear making him horribly nauseous. He felt the bile rise in his throat and struggled desperately not to choke as it came oozing from his lips.

"Oh, for fucks sake!" She cried, throwing her arms in into the air and motioning for someone to bring her a wet cloth. "You're a mess." She paused, breathed in deeply as she wiped up the puke from his mouth, in an unusually tender manor, and smiled. "I'm glad you decided to come back."

Her voice was like a horrible boom in his head. It gave him a throbbing headache. Slowly, trying to move away from her strangely gentle touch, the pain in his arm becoming too intense, he rolled again onto his back.

To his relief, she moved away from him, and spoke to someone in the room again.

"Well, what's wrong with him? The druggie said nothing was broken."

Whoever else was in the room was a man, and he chuckled a creepy chuckle. "For a druggie she has pretty good sense. His arm's dislocated, not broken." Souta could hear him move closer. "You might want to get him to a hospital, though. I've no way of checking for internal injuries.

"You know I can't do that." The headmistress snarled. "You're one of my best customers, Doctor. You know very well what they'll do at the hospital once they check him over."

The doctor hesitated. "Well, I could pop his arm back into place. He'll probably pass out, it's a painful process."

She made a snorting noise. "Do whatever you have to to get him good again for business. I've already lost a lot of money over his little stunt."

Souta blinked the tears back from his eyes, realizing who it was that was in the room with them.

Oh Gods. It was him. The man the headmistress had first sold his body too. The same memory came to him, the horror that had seeped into him when he realized exactly what it was that was going on the first time he'd been sold off.

"_Comm'ere, kid. Lemmie take off your shirt. I gotta check and see if you're healthy."_

_A strange feeling of pure horror settled over Souta as the shirt was lifted from his upper body and the man touched his chest in a way that made him suddenly feel nauseous. "Wh- what are you doing?" His voice cracked._

"_Just be quiet. Be quiet and it will be easier."_

"_But-"_

"_I'm a doctor, kid. You can trust doctors."_

Souta started to struggle, panicking. It couldn't happen again. This is why he had run away. This is why he had left Rin behind and ran in the first place-

Oh Gods. Where was Rin? What had happened to her?

Souta tried to sit up, but let out a strangled cry as the same pain shot up his arm.

The Doctor's hand was on his chest, trying to push him back down, and Souta had to hold back from vomiting again. The doctor ignored Souta's obvious discomfort.

"This is going to cost you." The Doctor said, seeming oblivious to the way Souta's body shuttered at his touch.

The headmistress raised her eyebrow. "How much?" She asked, a cold tone in her voice.

"Not money." He answered. "I want them both at the same time. This boy and the younger girl from before. What was her name?"

"Rin."

"Yes." He said. "I liked her a lot."

The Headmistress didn't answer for a few seconds, contemplating. "Fine." She finally answered. "If you fix him up so that he can be useful again you can have them both at the same time. But I don't want you pulling any of your freaky masochistic shit on the girl. She's brand new."

Souta saw the Doctor grin at the memory.

Tears welled up in his eyes, knowing exactly what Rin had gone through.

"Yes, of course." The Doctor replied. "But I can with this one, yes?"

The Headmistress snorted. "Do what you will with him, as long as there's no permanent damage. He needs to be taught a lesson anyway, trying to escape like that." She leaned in close to Souta's face. "Did you really think you were going to get away with it, you piece of shit?" She breathed on him. "I hope the good doctor here punishes you well."

Souta shook from head to toe, the tears spilling over his lashes.

"Well, let's fix him up." The Doctor said, and he grabbed hold of Souta's shoulder, pushing with one hand and pulling with the other. There was a sound snap, and Souta's anguished scream could be heard through the entire building.

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Kagome sighed, signing the last of the contract papers Miroku Houshi had strewn about in front of her. There was a lot of legal matters here, but she figured it was due to the fact of the sheer amount of money she was being paid. She'd tried to read through it in the beginning, like commonsense commanded, but most of the words and sentences, to her embarrassment, were too complicated to truly understand, and while Miroku had his easygoing smile plastered on his face the whole time, he was strangely unspecific and imprecise when it came to explaining details of the contract to her. Finally, she'd just given up, knowing that she wouldn't be screwing _this_ particular job up. Her luck had finally changed.

She couldn't help but smile uneasily to herself as she thought of her employer, Inuyasha Kobun, and the current situation she was in. Other than his initial outburst, he _seemed_ like a nice guy, but she couldn't help but get the impression that he was holding some part of himself back. Like there was a lot more of his personality raging under a carefully constructed shell, like he was controlling his emotions very carefully.

And of course, there was the fact that he had a mouth like a sailor.

But she supposed she was thinking too much into it. He hadn't been rude or mean to her after he realized she wasn't… Kikyou, that was the name he'd called her, and he was paying her enough to have a decent life afterwards, if she managed her money right. Plus, she was getting her brother out of the orphanage, and he'd be able to come and stay with her in the most amazing house ever.

The thought of finally seeing her little brother again after so many years sent a thrill through her. She was finally able to make good on her promise, and she just hopped that he wasn't going to be _too_ upset with her for leaving him there.

The few beatings she'd gotten while in the orphanage herself were minor, and admonished for things like not finishing chores or talking back. But no matter how minor the abuse was, abuse was abuse, and once Souta was with her again, he would never have to worry about anyone hitting him again.

That thought put a smile on Kagome's face, one she hadn't realized she's adorned until Miroku cleared his throat.

She'd forgotten that he was there, and her cheeks tinted red with embarrassment.

"Tell me," Miroku spoke, obviously amused, "is it the large amounts of cash Inuyasha will be handing over, or the fact that you'll be pretending to be engaged to…" he held up the current _Cosmo_ issue, "the country's hottest, single male… that has you all atingle?"

Kagome rolled her eyes and grabbed for the magazine. "No way does it really say that about him." She demanded shyly, still a little unused to talking openly with her boss's lawyer. But she found that it actually did say such things about him, and with the picture on the front, she could see why.

"Uh… when was this taken?" She asked, slightly dizzy for a second. He looked so _perfect_, sitting there, his shirt half-off his chest, his hair just the perfect amount of wet, biting at his bottom lip as if he wanted desperately to screw whomever dared to look at him.

Miroku's smile widened, knowingly. "About six months ago. Surprising, isn't it?"

She didn't answer, they both knew the question.

"This, Miss Kagome, is what our beloved hanyou is famous for, other than his political father, of course." He leaned over and swiped the papers that she'd just signed, staking them neatly before folding his hands over them.

"For taking pictures?"

"For being sexy."

"Sexy." She felt confused.

"You don't find the picture sexy?"

She studied his face on the glossy paper for a few moments, trying to find the best, most truthful reply. "It's not that it's not sexy," she finally said, "it's more like I know he doesn't really look like… that."

"Like perfect?" He supplied the right word.

"Exactly. It's a bit over-the-top, isn't it?"

"Extremely."

Kagome glanced up at Miroku over the pages of the magazine and caught his gaze. "Won't his fans be angry?"

"Whatever for?"

"That he's… well, engaged."

Miroku shrugged. "It's quite certain a lot of them will be. It would even be fair to say that you'll both be getting quite a bit of hate mail after the official announcement is made public."

"And it won't ruin his career?"

His smile faded a bit, turned sad in a way, more genuine. "No, Kagome. If anything it will make his career even more stable. Especially after you and he are through. His fan base will be that much stronger."

Kagome sat quiet for a while, thinking of what it all meant, of how she fit into the big scheme of things. The way it all panned out, all the deceiving, all the lying, the tricking… Inuyasha Kobun was going as far as fibbing straight-faced to his parents, all because he desperately wanted a few more months of solitude…

It didn't pan out. Why was Inuyasha Kobun trying so hard to keep himself out of a relationship? It wasn't as if there was a shortage of women, and he certainly had his pick of the pack.

So why was he trying so hard?

Frowning, she looked up at Miroku. "Who is Kikyou?" His face drained of color, and his eyes went wide.

"Who?" He coughed into his hand.

"Kikyou." She repeated. "Inuyasha thought I was Kikyou. And he was furious in the garden. Who is Kikyou?"

Miroku seemed reluctant to answer. "Kikyou…." he hesitated, "Is someone who didn't work out with Inuyasha." She shrugged her question off. "She's no one of concern, not to worry."

But Kagome couldn't help but worry. Miroku's face was grave, and she had a feeling Kikyou wasn't just someone from Inuyasha's partying lifestyle. She bit at her lip a little, looking down into Inuyasha Kobun's heated, heart-thumping, every-girl's-fantasy eyes, gazing, no, glaring up at her from the glossy page. His eyes blazed, but they also hid himself. They weren't the same people, this magazine idol and her boss.

Neither spoke for a while, Kagome lost in her thoughts. Finally, Miroku sighed and stood from the kitchen table, smiling gently down at her. "Come on, I'm taking this up to Inuyasha." He scooped up the contract and tucked it safely under his arm. "He'll want to see you as well, I imagine."

"Oh?" She said, and stood up to follow him out. "What for?"

She saw the corners of Miroku's mouth lift slightly. "There's a small dinner party at one of Mr. Kobun's contributors. With the Kobun's in the states, Inuyasha will have to fill in, and you'll be going with him."

Kagome stopped dead in her tracks. "A party?"

Miroku nodded. "A very important one. Scared?"

She gulped down her 'yes', because she was defiantly scared, but determination came over her, and she set her jaw. "No."

"Good," was his simple reply.

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Kitari sat leaning leisurely against the bar of the Carmel Café, a high-classed place lost in a sea of high-classed society. He took a sophisticated sip of his chocolate milk before he placed it back down onto the counter, people watching.

What was it about people that made them dress and act like they were cut from cardboard? So stiff and arrogant. It took all his effort not to mock them. His breed of _youkai_ were tricksters by nature, and it was hard to keep his cool under his current conditions. He watched as a tall, quite stunning female dressed in all white walked a sultry walk in front of him, heading towards the ladies room. She gave him a coy smile, and he offered one in return, no more that that.

It worked. Her eyes stayed fixed on his just a second longer than normal, her gaze sizzling. Kitari turned back to the bar, still smiling, although this time all to himself. The woman's look meant he'd done right in choosing his form. She obviously thought he was a hottie.

He took another sip of his chocolate milk and snickered. Hottie.

Adults were weird.

But it meant that he would be able to seduce his target, no problem.

Ugh, he'd just reminded himself he was here to go over his target, not to flirt with grownups.

Kitari ran a finger through his reddish-brown hair and flipped open the manila envelope, pulling out the word document and pictures. Sighing, he read over the information Kouga had sent him. Kagome Higurashi, brown hair, brown eyes, five-three, average.

Boo, this would be no fun at all. She sounded boring, and from what he'd heard, the guy she was marrying was a jerk.

He tapped the toe of his shoe, annoyed, wishing the job wasn't just for surveillance. He'd been hoping for some action. For adventure and a couple of fights here and there. Not for tagging behind the son of a rich _Youkai_ bastard and his human girlfriend.

Skipping over her background information for now, Kitari slipped the pictures of the girl out form under the word document to study her features.

In the picture, Higurashi had stepped out into the sunlight in an ugly pink hoodie and dirt-grey string pants. Her hair was pulled up into a simple ponytail and she wore no makeup, her lips pulled into a small frown, her brows drawn together. Kouga had been right. Her eyes and hair were brown, and really, she was nothing special.

That was the thing that instantly bothered Kitari. Why was the Kobun son dating a girl so... low-class? Inuyasha usually dated the famous, the beautiful and the wealthy. Higurashi wasn't any of those, and she definitely wasn't from the same neighborhood Inuyasha was. No one who came from around here would be caught dead wearing that outfit. It was just so... Blah. He shook his head and slowly pulled the second picture from behind the first.

This picture was different. Inuyasha Kobun's security guard was standing beside the girl, and she had turned to look at him, and smiled.

And she was utterly stunning.

"Jesus..." Kitari swore, leaning in to study her face up-close. That must be it. The girl had no style, but damn, was her smile perfect. But could that really be it? Inuyasha Kobun just wasn't the type to be so... non-shallow.

He jumped suddenly, his pocket vibrating. Cursing at himself for getting distracted, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell, flipping it open and placing it against his ear. "It's Kitari."

"Have you made contact?"

"Christ, give me a little time, will ya? I've been reading up on the girl and I'll start surveillance tomorrow. I need to figure a way to get the girl alone. And even then, It'll take a bit for her to trust me."

The voice on the other end grew angry, and Kitari swore he heard a pencil snap in the background. Kouga _did_ have a bit of a strong grip.

"Do it faster. Inuyasha's rep will go down with the human girl, and if that happens…"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Kitari rolled his eyes. "It'll be done in a week."

"Make it three days."

He pulled the phone away from his ear, the loud buzz informing him that Kouga had hung up. He glared down at the small screen, as if Kouga himself could see him. "Yeah, goodbye to you too." He replied, snorting and pocketing his phone again.

No more time to play around, it seemed. It was time to get down to business.

He'd have Kagome Higurashi crazy for him in three days. At least, he would if he didn't want to be dead.

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AN: Oh man, craziness!

More Inuyasha/Kagome scenes in the next chapter, I PROMISE!!


	8. Disregarded Opportunity

AN: Hello lovely readers.

First, let me just state that this is a raw chapter. My beta has not yet gotten back to me, but I wanted to give you guys the go-ahead to read it, so excuse any mistakes you find until I can re-post. Thank you!

Second, I'm back again. Yay! Again, I got some great reviews and was inspired to start writing right away. The first section I wrote I pumped out eight pages in two hours! It felt so good, so I have high hopes for this chapter!

I know that you guys have been aching for some Inuyasha/Kagome interaction, and I'm sorry that I've been holding back on you, but that just makes it all the more sweeter when you finally get to it, right? Right? Well I hope you enjoy this Inuyasha/Kagome-entirely-filled chapter! XD Lots of interaction, I promise!

I was excited to get to this part, because it was so much fun to write in the original Pretty Kagome fanfic, and I got to take it and make it better (way better!) than it was.

Enjoy!

Oh! And don't forget to check out the poll I have up on my authors' page! Let me know what you think, okay?

~SugarRos

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Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to: Scarlet Witch Extreme, who left a lovely, lengthy review for chapter 7. Thank you so much, Scarlet, reading your review really got me re-inspired to finish this chapter.

Chapter Written To: Prelude for Time Feelers by Eluvium.

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Chapter 08: Disregarded Opportunity

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Kagome sat in the Kobun gardens; at the same exact spot she had meet Inuyasha face-to-face for the first time. The pearl-painted metal chair was cold beneath her bottom, but the sun shone down across the large acres of grass, glistened like glass fragments off the small lake, and warmed her face.

She had gone up to see Inuyasha with Miroku, but he hadn't been in his office at all. They'd searched everywhere but his bedroom, which Miroku had muttered was probably his hiding place. He'd contemplated knocking, but then decided against it, although Kagome didn't understand why. Inuyasha had seemed nice enough to her… after he'd realized he wasn't this 'Kikyou' character, anyway.

So Miroku had excused himself to take care of a few things and Kagome, figuring that she wasn't needed anywhere, decide to go back into the gardens, the place where Inuyasha had practically informed her that he was saving her butt by giving her such a well-paying job.

She could slowly feel herself relaxing, months of built-up worry and stress melting away. …And she'd only been here a couple of days.

It was strange, not having to worry about things like rent, where her next meal would come from, or if the person she lived with was getting high with their survival money or not. In fact, she didn't have to worry about much anymore, except for her brother. …Oh, and the dinner party tonight. That was worrisome.

Her brother was already slightly taken care of. Inuyasha had, after all, promised that he would help her with getting him out of the orphanage, and the thought that she might finally get to see him again after all these years had adrenaline rushing through her. She could barely contain herself.

Yes, her brother would be taken care of, but the dinner party was not such an easy fix. Sure, she'd had the few lesions from Miroku – who had informed her that she was a quick learner and had nothing to worry about – but she wasn't comfortable with the way she was supposed to walk, or the way she was supposed to talk.

And she was definitely not comfortable pretending to be in love with someone she barely knew.

Kagome scrunched her eyebrows together and thought hard about her situation. How far would she have to go to convince these people that they were head-over-heels for each other? What would she have to do in order to prove to his father's colleagues that they were serious? Would he hold her hand? Lay his arm around her waist? Her shoulder? Would he flirt with her? Call her pet names? …Kiss her?

Her face flushed red instantly. Oh Gods. Kissing him was too much. She only met the guy. Sure, he was attractive. Beyond attractive, actually, but he was her savior, her employer, not someone to lust after like a simpering schoolgirl.

She imagined kissing him again, but shook her head to rid such ridiculous thoughts. Because if anything like that was introduced into the picture, what else would she be but a high-classed prostitute?

"Oh…" Her voice cracked, and tears came to her eyes. She blinked them back, but couldn't catch the first couple that escaped and trickled their way down her skin. She captured them at her chin and wiped them on her shirt, er, the shirt she was _borrowing_.

It was painful, thinking of what she had almost become, what had almost happened to her. She remembered her relief when Dr. Hojou had informed her that she was still… intact, that she hadn't been forced to have sex.

Once more, her mind wandered to the night she'd been attacked, and once again, it all went fuzzy, and after that she remembered nothing. She did, however, remember coming-to and seeing that someone had literally beaten the crap out of her attackers.

Angels did exist, it seemed.

Her tears had broken through her leashed defenses again, and this time she picked up the bottom hem of her shirt and wiped her eyes dry. No more crying for her. The past was passed, and her new job was _not_ high-classed prostitution. She doubted Inuyasha would want it from her anyway. From what she'd read in the papers, he had a reputation dating models.

Kagome Higurashi was no model.

With that thought, she began to relax again, closing her eyes and focusing on the rays of sunshine that bathed across her face. It felt wonderful.

"Hey Kagome," Sango laughed. "Oh, sorry, did I wake you?"

She must have dozed off. The sun had moved towards the West, and now the sky was a beautiful dusk of pink and purple and blue.

"Hey Sango." Kagome stretched her arms high above her head, her shoulder joints popping, "it's okay." She stood and turned to smile at her new friend. "I didn't mean to fall asleep, did I miss anything important?"

She knew she did at Sango's slight wince. "You didn't do anything wrong, before you ask," she said with a roll of her eyes, "but be prepared to get an earful, the prince is having a fit."

"The price?" Kagome asked.

"Inuyasha." Sango replied, and then added, under her breath, "the big baby…"

Kagome cocked her head and followed Sango inside. "Inuyasha is having a fit? Uh, does that usually happen?"

"On the record? No."

"And off it?"

"All the freaking time."

This struck Kagome as odd. He hadn't seemed like the type to throw tantrums. "Really? But he seemed so nice… Other than when he almost choked me to death, that is." She added.

"Ah, yeah, well Kikyou is kind of a sore subject around here. I'll give you a hint: If you want to stay, don't mention her name. To _anyone_. The walls have ears."

Kagome glanced a suspicious look at the wall as they walked down the hallway.

Sango caught her glance and rolled her eyes again. "Not _literally_, Kagome. I meant you never know who might be listening, so it's best never to talk about her, period."

"Why is she such a sore subject?"

"Didn't you ever hear the story of how curiosity killed the cat?"

Kagome blushed. "Well, yes, but-"

"But nothing!" Sango insisted. "Don't mention her period. You don't need to know about her, it's not like you'll ever see her around."

Kagome let it drop, but placed the conversation away for safekeeping. Maybe someone else would be willing to give her more information on this mysterious Kikyou person, whoever she was.

She didn't have time to dwell much on it, however, because they'd turned the corner and walked up a flight of stairs, and _now_ she could hear Inuyasha's fit.

"-don't fucking _care_ if you wake him up, get him on the fucking phone or I'll cram your fucking balls down your own fucking throat!"

Kagome froze in her tracks, eyes wide in disbelief. He really _was_ having a fit.

"Don't tell me what time it is in Australia! I don't give a damn! Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

Sango had taken a few steps ahead before she realized that Kagome wasn't following anymore. She turned to look back, then sighed and went to grab onto Kagome's wrist, pulling her along.

"Common." She said, gritting her teeth. "Better to get it over with now."

"Get _what_ over with?" Kagome squeaked, fully intimidated.

Sango didn't reply, just shoved open the doors and walked right into Inuyasha Kobun's office, dragging a renitent Kagome behind her.

Inuyasha didn't notice them right away; he was busy shouting into the phone. Miroku, however, saw them enter and gave Sango a look, letting her know they were really in for it.

"-said it alright, and I'll say it again! You're a bastard, and you're fired!" He paused. "Well, when I get ahold of your boss you will be! Don't you fucking know who you're talking to?" Kagome watched as his already-blotchy face turned almost purple, and he slammed the phone down onto the holder, crushing it to pieces. Gods, he was strong. But she knew that already, and resisted rubbing at her neck as she remembered his fingers there.

"God-fucking-_dammit_!!" He seethed, standing up rather abruptly and pacing back and forth behind his desk. "Fucking retards don't know what the hell they're talking about! Miroku!" He snapped.

Miroku didn't move very much, but Kagome could see his eyes snap right to attention. "Yes?"

"Get your fuckin' ass out of here, I'm sick of lookin' at yah!" He shouted. Kagome winced. Miroku did not.

Instead, he merely raised his eyebrow and shrugged. "Fine," was all he said, before turning and leaving the room.

Kagome watched him go, her eyes wide, her body trembling. How could she have thought Inuyasha was ever _nice_? Miroku was the nice one, the one that helped her with almost everything around here, and now he was _leaving_ her in here with him.

She wanted to cry out to him – don't go! – but he was gone, and now the only thing between her and this… this _youkai_ was a girl no bigger than herself.

"You."

She snapped her head around, and felt like a caged animal with nowhere to go.

"Where the _hell_ have you been?!" He raged.

"Inuyasha…" Sango warned.

"You shut the hell up."

Sango's eyes narrowed, but she didn't talk back. Snorting in satisfaction, Inuyasha stomped over to Kagome, brushing Sango aside, who didn't resist and merely grunted in annoyance.

"I've been trying to find you for _hours_. Where the fuck were you?"

His eyes glowered, and she shrank back, worried he might take her by the throat again. She was beginning to think taking this job was a terrible, terrible idea.

"I-I'm sorry. I fell asleep out by the-"

"I don't fucking pay you to fall asleep whenever you like!" He spat. "Didn't Miroku inform you earlier that I needed to talk to the both of you?"

A ping of annoyance shot through her. "Well, yes but we couldn't find you, so-"

"So you decided to go off and fall asleep in a place no one would think of looking for you?"

"It wasn't a place that-"

"You're slacking off on the job already, bitch!"

"I was in-"

"I don't fucking _care_ where you were, I just care that you're where you need to be when I need you to be there! That's it!"

He wouldn't let her finish a sentence, it was getting ridiculous, as were the names he kept calling her. She grit her teeth together and balled her hands into fists.

"I didn't-"

"You're right, you didn't! You did _nothing_ but piss me off, wench."

Kagome cleared her throat. "Excuse me."

"You think you can come in here and-"

She tried again, a bit louder. "Excuse me."

"-trying to sneak off and sleep while I-"

"_SHUT UP._"

The entire room froze. Kagome watched in anger as Inuyasha's mouth went slack, his eyes wide, like hers, although from shock rather than fear.

Satisfaction ran through her. She'd done nothing to receive such harsh treatment from him, and she wouldn't let him treat her like trash, no matter _where_ she'd come from.

"First of all," she seethed back at him, her fingers going numb from clenching them together so tightly, "my name is Kagome. Ka. Go. Me. Not wench, and not bitch. If you refuse to address me by my name, don't address me at all."

Inuyasha's mouth began to close, now that the initial impact had worn off. And now his demeanor was much like hers. Kagome fought the urge to back down. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. Angry, wet tears of fury.

"Second of all," she continued, "I in no way warrant an attack like this. We tried to find you, but you were holed up in your room, you big _jerk_. I went out into the garden and fell asleep. That's all." She paused, and breathed in a shaky breath. "Jerk." She added again, for good measure.

A low growl erupted from Inuyasha's chest. "Don't call me a jerk."

"Well, you are one!" She countered.

"And you're a bitch!"

"Well, you're an idiot!"

His eyes went wide again, only for a second, before he growled again. "Yeah? Well you're fired!" He yelled.

"You can't fire me!" She spat back, fueling her temper.

"Watch me!"

"No, you stupid Dog-For-Brains! Firing me is breach of contract! I read it! You aren't allowed to let me go!"

His face paled and he went rigid, then he abruptly turned on his heel and stomped back towards his desk, pulling open a drawer with such force that papers flew up and out around him, fluttering lightly in the air. He cursed and bent out of her eyesight to pick them up, then stood and raked his eyes over the contract.

"Oh for fucks sake…" He reached for his desk phone, but then realized that he'd crushed it earlier, so grabbed for his cell phone and placed it on speaker. "Miroku! Get your ass back up here!"

"What for?" Came Miroku's monotone reply.

"For this fucking contract, you asshole! You wrote in here that I can't fire the bitch!"

"Don't call me a-"

"And you did it in Crayon!" He continued.

"Well, it's still legal binding." Miroku insisted.

"You know what? _Don't_ come up here, you pathetic excuse for a security guard! I'd rather not drag your body through the whole house to get your bloody pulp out into the garbage! I'll be right down. You move and you're dead! Got it? Dead!"

"Dead. Got it." He hung up.

Inuyasha glared down at the phone before cursing again and throwing it against the wall, where it promptly shattered.

Sango sighed. "I'll call DoCoMo, then."

"Everyone out! _Out_!!!" He shouted, enraged.

"You're an immature brat!" Kagome cried, holding her ground, plenty riled up herself. "A brat!"

"Get her out of my sight!"

Sango grabbed Kagome's arm and yanked her from the room. A gust of air swept by as the door slammed shut behind them. Both girls turned to stare at the closed door, breathing heavily. The sounds of a very angry hanyou wrecking the office on the other side of the door reached their ears.

"Gods…" Kagome breathed, slightly horrified. "I- I can't believe that anyone could act that way!"

"Yeah, well. He's usually not _so_ terrifying." Sango breathed back. "He's gotten much worse since…" She trailed off, her brow creasing in thought.

"…Since…?" Kagome asked.

She shook her head. "He's just been stressed out lately. Can you blame the guy? He _is_ about to be forced into a marriage that he doesn't want."

"That doesn't give him the right to treat everyone like dirt." Kagome retorted, still peeved. "I've never heard anyone use language like that so repeatedly."

"Actually, I'm surprised you were able to get him to shut up." Sango laughed dryly. "I haven't seen that look on his face in _years_." She giggled. "You probably scared him half to death."

Kagome felt her anger slowly melt away. The corners of her mouth turned up. "I didn't mean to yell at him, but… he was calling me names." She paused. "It's a good thing Miroku put that extra bit in there, otherwise, I'd be back out on the streets.

Sango's giggles had turned into a full-blown laugh and nodded vigorously in agreement. "And in crayon! His face was _priceless_ when he saw that!"

Kagome smiled, then it turned into a grin, and her grin turned into light laughter as they started down the hall, leaving Inuyasha's loud tantrum behind.

"Hey," Kagome chuckled, "did I head Inuyasha call Miroku a security guard?"

Sango nodded.

"I thought he was the lawyer!"

Their laughter echoed through the hallway.

.

.o0o0o0o0o.

.

Kagome lay in bed, thinking over the events that evening. Her small-but-explosive fight with her employer left her feeling a strange mix of emotions, and she was tired from experiencing one extreme feeling and then another. Earlier that day she'd felt elated, and now she was scared, worried and nervous that her boss would find a way to kick her out despite Miroku's silly attempts to protect her.

Of course, she was also proud that she'd held her own to him, that she hadn't backed down into a quivering mess. Not that she'd expect herself to under normal circumstances, but she had never imagined she would be on the receiving end of a temper-tantrum by a fussy hanyou.

Argh! She flipped over onto her stomach and pressed her face angrily into her pillow. No _wonder_ he had to pay her to pretend to marry him. Who the heck would do it for free?

She imagined Inuyasha at his wedding, a pretty girl at his side, demanding she pay him in front of his friends and relatives before the final 'I do's were said. The image made her giggle, the sound muffled by the pillow.

Then she imagined herself at his side. Pretending to be the blushing bride, wearing the most beautiful wedding dress she could conjure up. It was a bit over-the-top, but then again, she'd never been able to afford anything extravagant. Now that she could, it didn't feel so devastating to imagine herself in one.

Of course, once Inuyasha started repeating his vows, she imagined him insulting her instead of praising her, calling her the same names he did today. She frowned, and flipped back over onto her stomach, blinking up into the darkness. She didn't like the picture of she and Inuyasha marrying, so she closed her eyes and imagined someone else at her side. The man she conjured was tall and masculine, but had no features on his face, just blank skin. Her frown deepening, she flipped through her memory of all the males she'd met in her life. She tried Miroku's, but she chuckled and nixed it. Miroku was nice-looking, but not someone she could picture marrying. Finally she settled on Dr. Hojou's face.

This made her grin as Dr. Hojou now stood next to her, smiling that same, soft smile that he'd worn as he'd nursed her back to health. She grinned back up at him, letting herself relax in his imaginary presence, and listened as he repeated his vows. But it wasn't long before his promise of wedded bliss turned into suggestions for quick healing, and Kagome was back to square one.

Frustrated and now positive that rest would not come soon for her, she threw back her covers and sat up on the bed, facing the bay doors that led to the balcony. She watched the moonlight patterns the window doors created before finally standing, opening the doors and patting quietly in her bare feet to the edge of the balcony.

The balcony overlooked a different part of the gardens then where she had sat earlier. It was another clearing that included a fountain and a few marble benches, engraved to match. It was a peaceful view, and it calmed her heart. The flowing water made a pleasant bubbling sound, and she finally felt herself relaxing again under the bright moon.

She heard movement, a shuffling of sorts, and she immediately ducked behind the railing of the balcony, a reflex reaction, before wondering what she was hiding from. She was _allowed_ to be here, what could possibly be down there that she had to hide from? …It seemed that she was still used to dodging the authorities and the yakuza on the streets. Satisfied that she wasn't about to get arrested or beaten to a pulp, Kagome moved to stand…

And heard a high-pitched giggling sound, followed, by a sigh, and then a baritone male voice.

"Ah, Sango."

Oh. _Oh_! Oh no. Kagome's face flushed a deep red color, feeling the change in temperature from the cool night air. She felt like an intruder now, like she was imposing on an extremely private moment. Sango was quickly becoming somewhat of a friend, and she didn't want anything to ruin that.

Plus, she was no pervert, and had no intention of even _thinking_ of watching Sango make out with her mysterious man.

Mysterious man… Kagome's curiosity kicked into gear, and she wanted to know who it was Sango was being naughty with. Surely a peek wouldn't hurt, would it? Agonizingly slow, Kagome turned from her seated position to a crouching one; to her it seemed that every move she made echoed across the flowery landscape, and she held her breath, worried that it might give her away as well. Her fingers clutched at the railing, and the muscles in her legs slowly lifted her up, up, up until she could barely see over the top of her hiding spot.

"Miroku, stop it!" Sango muttered, followed by a scuffling sound and then a sharp slap.

Kagome froze, then bit her lip holding in a snort of surprise. _Miroku_ was her midnight fling? It seemed strange, since the very few times Sango had mentioned the lawyer-turned security guard, she did so disdainfully.

"Pervert." Sango growled in the darkness. "I didn't bring you out here to feel me up, I brought you out here because you said you wanted to talk."

"And so I do." Came his humored reply. "I got quite an earful from Inuyasha after he spoke with you and Kagome. Apparently her mouth is as sharp as his."

"Sharper." Sango corrected, and Kagome's face flushed a hot color. "You should have seen her, Miroku, she called him a Dog."

"Dog-for-brains is how our employer remembers it."

"Yes, well, she didn't back down at all. It was an intimidating experience. She actually left him speechless."

"I don't believe it."

"I was there, it happened."

There was an excited edge to Miroku's voice now: "It's going to work. She's got to be the one. The only other person that ever spoke to him as such was-"

"Kikyou. I know." Sango finished.

Kikyou. There was that name again. The name Inuyasha had spat viciously into Kagome's face as he tried to choke the air from her body. The woman that Sango had said was a sore subject.

"Yes, and I think Kagome might be the one that can really do it. She'll be able to undo what Kikyou did."

What had Miroku said about Kikyou in the kitchen earlier that day? _"Kikyou…." he hesitated, "Is someone who didn't work out with Inuyasha." He shrugged her question off. "She's no one of concern, not to worry."_ Kagome hadn't worried before, but she was worried now. What did Kikyou do to Inuyasha that Kagome could possibly undo? From their conversation it seemed that Inuyasha had his temper way before she entered his home.

"Houshi, you're treading on thin ground here. If Inuyasha finds out what you have planned for Kagome…" Her voice trailed off as Kagome's breathed hitched in the back of her throat. She didn't like the sound of that

"What I have planned for Kagome isn't important. What's important is that she never ever find out about Kikyou and-"

"Hey!" A voice yelled from the balcony above Kagome's and she shrunk back into the shadows as a curtain of platinum hair cascaded over the railing above. "I can't fuckin' sleep with all the racket you're making! Shut the fuck up and take it to the bedroom!"

"Ah, Inuyasha." Miroku called from below. "I am sorry we've awoken you, please know that we'll be as quiet as possible from now on."

"The garden isn't the best place for a rendezvous, Monk." Inuyasha snarled. "You've got a eves dropper." He lit a cigarette and must have motioned down towards Kagome's balcony, because Sango was the next person to speak.

"Kagome?" She asked, her voice wavering a little.

Caught, Kagome stood from her squatting position and waved down sheepishly to her two co-workers.

"Hello." She said, her face blazing. She wondered if Inuyasha could see how flushed she was with his too-keen eyes. "Just getting some air I'll go back inside now I'll see you tomorrow goodnight!" She said in a hurried rush, an attempt at a quick getaway.

Her boss snorted from above. "Keh. Just because you work here doesn't mean you have the right to listen to other people's conversations."

She froze in her tracks, her face flushed and her heart beating, although this time in anger rather than embarrassment. She stomped back over to the railing and leaned over, turning her neck so she could glair hateful daggers at her employer.

"You smell," she said, "like wet dog and ashtray!" And then she turned on her heel and stomped back into her room.

"Bitch!" She heard him yell at an attempt to have the last word, but she ignored him and instead returned to her bed, body fuming and mind wheeling over what just happened. It took a while for her to calm down enough to sleep, but once she did, she dreamed fitfully of a girl who had her face, a sneer on her lips and cold, hard eyes.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled wickedly. _"Inuyasha is mine."_ Said her reflection. _"You think you can take him from me? Train him better than I? You think you have anything over me, Kagome?"_

And she answered her reflection. _"Kikyou?"_

.

.o0o0o0o0o.

.

The next morning was bright and sunny, warm and calm, but Kagome woke up feeling horrible. Dreams she could scarcely remember pushed at the edges of her consciousness, but her foggy memory pushed them back. She felt like she'd thrashed around in her sleep as well, her back and neck muscles ached as she forced herself from the bed and towards the steam room shower.

The warm water relaxed her enough to function, and she stayed in long enough for her fingers to turn to prunes. Turning off the shower, she mulled over the idea of drawing a bath and letting herself relax even more. She dismissed the thought, however, when she remembered the tantrum Inuyasha had thrown when she relaxed too much yesterday. Instantly riffed, she huffed and wrapped a white, fluffy towel around her torso, then left the bathroom to find another agonizingly tight outfit to wear for the day.

Sango was in her bedroom, and Kagome gave a start when she opened the bathroom door and saw her there. "Ah! Geez Sango, you scared me."

"Sorry!" She chirped brightly, a clipboard in her left hand and a pen held in her right. "I'm here to get you ready for today."

Suddenly suspicious, Kagome narrowed her eyes and grabbed at the front of her towel. "Ready for what today? What's going on?"

"We'll be out shopping for clothes that fit you, the dinner party is in two days, and we need you looking your best." She smiled, but rolled her eyes to show Kagome how ridiculous it all was.

Kagome couldn't help smiling back, feeling less scared knowing Sango would have her back.

"Now lets hurry and squeeze you into one of these cheesy outfits so we can hurry and get you clothes that fit."

Kagome nodded, biting her lip as she walked towards the closet. For a second, she lost her nerve, but then steeled herself and turned on her heel to face Sango again. "Ah, Sango, I'm… I'm sorry."

Sango looked up from her clipboard, bewildered. She clicked her pen. "Whatever for?"

"For eavesdropping on you the other night." She felt her face blush a deep scarlet. "Honestly, I was out there for a few seconds when I heard you two – er – _talking_, and I ducked out of sight, and then, well, I was honestly _curious_ about who you were talking to, and I-"

"Kagome…. _Kagome_. It's okay." Sango chuckled at her rushed words. "It's alright, it's not a big deal." She winked. "Promise."

"Okay. Thank you. You're a good friend, Sango."

She laughed outright at that. "Oh, Kagome. I'm just so glad to have another girl around here, one that's normal and human, you know? Now hurry and get dressed."

It took a good thirty minuets for Kagome to squeeze into an outfit, then another thirty to squeeze out of it. Sango insisted that she be comfortable for the trip, and that Inuyasha would just have to deal with her wearing sweats. Another twenty minuets it took to dry her hair and make it out the front door, trailing behind Sango as she went. Inuyasha and Miroku were waiting for them, the limo parked and ready to go in the driveway. Kagome froze for a few seconds upon laying eyes on Inuyasha, prepared for him to yell at her again, but he acted as if she weren't even there. Instead he motioned towards Sango.

"Well, did it come or not?"

She sighed and stepped over to him, holding out a phone. "Here, upgraded, the newest blackberry. DoCoMo promised me it would hold out better than the last."

Inuyasha snorted. "These things are so flimsy."

"Yes, your temper has nothing to do with it." Sango rolled her eyes and promptly ignored Inuyasha's pointed glare. "We ready to go?" She asked cheerfully.

Miroku raised his hand up in the air. "One second, Sango dear. I believe we have some apologies to attend to." He elbowed Inuyasha in the ribs.

Inuyasha sighed, glared, huffed, and then finally rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'm… Sorry." He mumbled.

"What?" Kagome asked, slightly taken back by his unexpected apology.

"Woman, if you think I'll say it again-"

Miroku cleared his throat loudly from Inuyasha's right, causing him to stop short and clench his teeth together.

"I'msorry." Inuyasha breathed out in one word.

Kagome paused a few seconds, before smiling softly at his effort. It was good he was trying to make nice. "Okay, I'm sorry too, for calling you a jerk."

"Don't forget 'idiot'."

"Yes, that too." She said.

"And 'wet dog'."

Her temper flared. "You're pushing it."

"Well, you're forgiven," Inuyasha said, loosening his tie, "just don't annoy me next time."

This time Kagome's mouth snapped shut, but she swallowed her annoyance down and managed to nod. It turned out working for Inuyasha was going to be much harder than she thought.

Sango shrugged. "Alright then, can we go now? We've got a busy day ahead of us."

Miroku waved from the doorstep as the three of them boarded the limo and they set off. Immediately Inuyasha was on his blackberry, making important business phone calls, promptly ignoring both Sango and Kagome, giving them time to go over the plan for today.

"I have to run a few errands with Inuyasha while you shop," she immediately started in, "but if you just tell the sales ladies what you're looking for they'll help you pick something out. Remember, conservative and sophisticated, okay?"

"Conservative and sophisticated." Kagome nodded, trying to calm the butterflies fluttering around her stomach. "Got it."

"Alright." Sango nodded, satisfied enough with her answer. "Now, you have a limit of a little over a million yen for your dress, so you should be okay. However, if you find something that you like that's more, just wait until we meet up and we can go get it together, alright?"

Kagome gapped.

"You okay?"

"One… one million?" She repeated.

"Yes."

"I… why would I need a dress so… so…"

"Believe me, you'll need it."

"But that's so much!"

Sango waved her off. "For a dress, it's not bad at all, actually. "

"You're kidding."

She looked offended. "Of course I'm not! What, you think I took this job for the benefits?" She paused, looking thoughtful, then added: "Well, yes, for those too." She grinned. "But mostly for the big, fat paycheck."

Kagome didn't verbally reply, just nodded in understanding. Saying the money was good was an understatement.

The ride over to the shopping district wasn't a long one, but Kagome felt herself staring more than she liked to admit at the wonderfully extravagant estates on the way. Sango told her to close her mouth more than once as they passed by some of the most beautiful front yards she'd ever seen.

It was a wonder how only a few miles could change a neighborhood. Inuyasha's estate was only a short drive down the freeway from the slums, but the change in surroundings was obvious. Although she knew that places like this existed, she never dreamed in a million years she'd be riding around one in a fancy limousine, a million yen spending limit burning a plastic hole through her pockets.

Lucky her.

Ten minuets later they arrived at their destination. The limo pulled up to one of the biggest banks Kagome had ever laid her eyes on. The driver stepped out and around, and the doors opened. She slipped out after Sango and Inuyasha, who was still on the phone.

Sango turned to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Will you be alright by yourself?"

Truthfully, Kagome was scared out of her mind, but she grit her teeth and nodded. "I'll be fine, I can handle some shopping, I promise." She winked for good measure.

Satisfied, Sango nodded along. "Alright then, go to it. Get anything you want." She paused. "Make sure you look nice in it, okay? You need to impress the parents." With that, she turned and hurriedly followed Inuyasha into the bank.

Kagome stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds as the limo slowly pulled out into traffic and away from her, effectively cutting off her escape route. There was no hiding it now; she'd simply have to trudge forward. It all felt like some sort of dream. It had to be. Shaking her head, she finally moved forward down the street. Step after step it became easier, until finally there was a little bounce to her step. She was excited. Never before in her life was she able to spend money like she was about to. Ever.

She passed shop after shop, looking in windows, imagining that she had this or that. And then something amazing happened.

There it was.

The perfect dress.

Something Kagome would never thought she could wear in a million years, and yet… here she was, standing right at the window with a card just begging to be swiped, to be spent on something as gorgeous at that perfect dress in the window. She looked up at the sign hanging above the door. _Amour Boutique_. It was such a pretty name, and, even thought she felt lame and cliché, she almost cried.

It was like a dream. She was going to walk in and buy the most beautiful dress on the planet, with money that hadn't been stolen, or been earned by her body. It was real money that had been given to her, with nothing being wanted in return but a hard-days work of acting affectionate.

And she had no problem doing that.

Taking a deep breath she opened the door, hearing the tiny bells ring together as she stepped into the cool atmosphere of the fancy store. She looked around, noticing that there weren't very many people inside, only two others to be exact. She felt like she was in Beverly Hills, like a store only movie stars went to, like it was open only for her. Walking to the dress in the window, she bent over to get a closer look. Her had reached out. If she could only touch it, it would be enough. She could die happy then.

"Ah-HEM."

Startled, Kagome jumped back, as if she'd done something terribly wrong. Turning, she looked up wide-eyed at the stiff-looking sales lady before her. Her suit pressed and her hair pulled into a stiff bun, a cold smile graced her hard features.

"I'm sorry," she asked in a sing-song voice, "but are you lost?"

"Oh, no, I'm not." Kagome replied, smiling in turn. "I'd like to try that on." She pointed at the dress, that same satisfied feeling filling her up inside.

The sales lady's voice didn't grow colder, her smile didn't change, and her words were pleasant. "I'm afraid we don't have that in your size."

Kagome's eyebrows drew together, confused. "Oh, well, do you mind if I try it on anyway? It's very pretty."

"Mmm, it is," she agreed, "and very expensive."

Oh. Now she got it. She flushed, embarrassed. This lady could see right through her. Could see that Kagome was nothing but street urchin. "I-I have the money for it…" Her voice trailed off as she held back her tears. Shameful tears.

The lady sneered down at her, as if she were dirty. "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Kagome nodded, turned, and placed a hand on the door, ready to walk out and give up. But then something kicked in. How _dare_ this woman treat her like this? She wasn't dirt. She wasn't garbage. She was human, and she had the money, and it didn't matter what she used to be, she was a hard working woman who earned more than THIS lady certainly did.

She shook her head and looked up, right into her eyes. "I get it. I see what's going on here." She paused, somewhat for a dramatic effect, but mostly because she was on the verge of crying, out of rage rather than feeling sorry for herself. "I'm leaving, no problem, but you'll regret it. Enjoy your job while you still have it."

Her face didn't change in it's cold expression as Kagome left. She turned and headed back towards the back, stomping out her aggression. Hot, angry tears started to fall over her lashes. She couldn't hold them in.

She hated what she'd been, where she'd come from. It didn't matter that she had money now. All everyone saw when they looked at her was someone worthless.

She wasn't watching where she was going, and while she pitied herself, she walked right into Inuyasha.

"What the-?" He grabbed onto her shoulders, steadying her. "Watch where you're going, wench!"

She let out a sob as an answer.

"Hey! Hey, what the hell's wrong with you?" He shook her. "Stop crying. Stop it now."

She hiccupped.

"Gods, wench, you're blithering all over me!" He pushed her away and folded his arms. "Of course Sango sends me out to find you by myself at a time like this, dammit," he muttered to himself before huffing at her. "Stop crying like a girl and tell me what the hell happened!"

Kagome wiped at her eyes, and looked up at him, still embarrassed, still horribly pissed off. "They wouldn't let me buy the dress."

"What?"

"They told me to leave." She shook her head, her voice coming out bitter, which she hadn't wanted. "It's not going to work, Inuyasha. I can't pull it off. How can I convince your parents I'm high-class if I can't convince a woman in a dress shop?"

Inuyasha sighed and rolled his eyes. "You're more trouble than you're worth." He clutched onto her arm, right below her elbow. "They sell dresses to people who look less high-class than you all the time, even in those sweats. It's not you. What store did you go into?"

"_Amour Boutique_."

He huffed. "Stop crying already, my mother owns that place. Come on, let's go." He led her by the elbow towards the store.

"Wh-what are you going to do?" She asked, slightly intimidated. Where was Sango? Why had she sent Inuyasha to get her?

"I'm taking you shopping, that's what I'm doing, now shut up."

Kagome wiped at her eyes again, thankful that she had no makeup on to smear anything. She let herself be led by him. He marched her right up to the boutique and slammed the doors open, the bells jingling violently.

The two salesladies from before hurried over, the same sour expression planted on the lady Kagome had talked to before. When she saw it was Inuyasha, her mouth fell agape. "M-Mr. Kobun! Wh-what can I do for-?"

He pushed Kagome out in front of him, her cheeks bright red with embarrassment.

"Kagome, which one was it?" He growled.

She pointed to the lady with the bun. "Her."

"You." He snapped his fingers at the lady. "You're fired. Don't come back here, don't look for jobs around here, you've been blacklisted."

The woman drew in a sharp breath, her mouth hanging open. "Bu-"

"Get out. You're trespassing."

She ran down the steps and pushed past me, sobbing into her hands.

"Bitch." Inuyasha mumbled, before he turned to glare at the other woman. She stood, frozen, afraid to be next. "And do you have a problem selling my fiancé here a dress?"

"O-of course not!" She stammered, and walked right up to Kagome, taking her by the arm and leading her to the back room. "You just get undressed in here. I'll bring you the dress."

Nodding, Kagome walked into the dressing room, her mind whirling. Inuyasha had been so harsh on the sales lady. She'd only been working for him a short time, she had already seen him rage, and now she'd seen him use his power. The sales lady had been terrified of him. Was she supposed to act that way around him as well? Sango and Miroku certainly didn't, and Kagome herself hadn't been doing so at all.

She shook her head to clear it as the curtain opened slightly and a hand pushed through with the dress.

"Here you go," the new saleslady said, her voice quivering slightly, "please let me know when you have it on."

"Thank you," Kagome replied in her kindest voice possible. It would be mean to scare the poor woman anymore than she already was. Of course, she was probably only being nice now because of Inuyasha's presence, but at least she was trying. Maybe she'd learn to treat everyone with respect now, unlike her coworker had done.

Slipping off the sweatpants and the hoodie, Kagome looked at the dress hanging in front of her. Sliding it from the hanger, she took a deep breath before she let it fall smoothly over her head. She felt the cool satin slip over her warm skin as it fell down to her ankles and draped over her chest. She turned to glance at it from the back, where ribbons of silver criss crossed, showing off her slender backbone. The silver shone over her hips and legs, and her eyes watered at the sight, and the feel of it.

The curtains shoot slightly, bringing her from her stupor.

"Are you dressed?" The saleslady asked.

"Yes." Kagome's felt her voice crack with emotion. If only she could have this dress. It made her feel beautiful.

"Then let's see it." She said, pulling back the curtain and revealing Kagome to the world.

To Inuyasha, who stood in front of her, his face a mask. She looked up into his eyes, smiling. She could feel her eyes dance with the joy she felt. "Well?" She asked, "what do you think?"

"That dress," the saleslady said, her voice hitching, "is absolutely perfect for you."

Kagome beamed at those words, but her eyes stayed on Inuyasha. What would he think? Would he like it? Was it fit for the diner party? He said nothing, his eyes taking her in. Finally, he raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose it will do." He said, then glanced at the saleslady. "Ring it up."

She bowed to him before leaving. "Right away."

Kagome's heart pounded, so loud she felt she could hear it herself. What did he think of it? He wasn't showing her any sign that he did. When he did speak, it wasn't about his thoughts on the dress.

"You like it, then?" He asked. Kagome nodded, blushing. "Good, we're done here. Let's keep going. You'll need more clothes."

She ginned. "Okay."

"Get out of that dress, we need to keep it clean until the diner party, and you look like you're about to cry all over it, wench."

She was too elated to be angry at his harsh tone and harsh words. The dress was hers. She felt as if she could take on the world.

.

.o0o0o0o0o.

.

_...beep…_

Souta's eyes opened.

…_beep…beep…_

Pain shoot swiftly through his head and he snapped his eyes shut again. He tried to bring his hand up to his head.

_..beep..beep…_

He couldn't move.

_....._

He couldn't move!

_..beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep.._

Panic swept over him as he screamed at himself to move.

Move.

MOVE.

MOVE!

_Goddammit!_ he wanted to cry out. Why the hell was this all happening? Where was he? Why couldn't he move? What the hell was going on? The last thing he remembered was...

Oh Gods… that…_man_ had… had…

He opened his eyes slower this time, and a wave of nausea hit him. This time me managed to roll over and puke over the side of the bed. After his stomach was empty he noticed the thin tube that ran from his arm up to a bag filled with liquid. Gods. Was he in a hospital?

The thought made his heart speed up in excitement, and his ears perked as the beeping noise increased again.

If he was in a hospital, then maybe someone realize what he'd been going though. Maybe the Headmistress would be arrested and he and Rin could be free. Or at least adopted.

His eyes moved to the right, trying to figure out what the beeping noise was. He couldn't see it. It was behind him. He looked straight ahead and, with a realization that was so depressing he felt as if the world itself would end, he cried.

He wasn't in a hospital.

He wasn't safe.

He was still here.

He was still HERE, Dammit!

He tried to cry out, but all that came from his mouth was a choked, strangled grunt, barely audible. Why didn't he just die? Were the Gods so cruel that they demand Souta live though all the torture? That he bare all the pain? That no matter what life-threatening situation he was in, he was doomed to live though? What a complete-

"And how are we feeling today" A sinister, cold voice asked. Souta opened his eyes again to look into the face of the Headmistress.

He wanted to scream. To curse. To kill. But he couldn't move. So he lay there and he cried.

"Well, it doesn't matter much." She said, answering her own question. She took a few steps towards Souta, an evil glare on her face.

Souta tried to wince away, knowing that it would do no good. He knew what was coming. A slap. A hard slap to let him know what a bad little boy he'd been, resisting the doctor and all his.. his… _devices_. If Souta were gone, the Headmistress would have only Rin and a few others to carry out her client's sick games and fantasies.

Souta waited.

And he waited.

The slap never came.

He opened his eyes, wondering what had happened.

The Headmistress wasn't by his bed anymore. She was over to his right, looking out the tainted window of the room.

But she was angry.

She was furious, and Souta could tell because she was barely able to contain it. Her knuckles were white, and her face was bright red. Her entire body shook with rage. But... Why wasn't she taking it out on him? What the hell was going on?

After a while, she spoke, her voice low and tight. Seething. "After you rest up, you'll be taken to your room, and you will pack your things.." She informed him, still not looking his way.

Pack his things?

"You'll be bought a pair of shoes and an outfit. Make sure you look... decent." She hissed the last word.

Souta couldn't understand. Clothes? Shoes? She wanted him to get an outfit?

"You.." She said, her fury starting to show more. "Are being adopted." She bit out, before she turned and left, slamming the door behind her, making Souta flinch.

...Adopted?

.

.o0o0o0o0o.

.

AN: Ta-daaa!!! Well, what do you guys think? Yes? No?

I'm just going to say that I really enjoyed writing this chapter, especially with the song that I wrote it to, which I suggest you get your hands on and re-read this chapter again. It's a great song to go along with it. I eyes even watered a little when Kagome was trying on the dress.

Anyway, yes, it's been a rather long time, and as such I've delivered another long chapter. Twenty-four pages to be exact! I hope you've enjoyed it. Until next time!

~SugarRos

Next Chapter: Shadowed Identity


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